Mark and I have been meditating on the importance of keeping the Sabbath just as God commanded us to. Not out of a need to please God so He will love us, but as a way to show Him we love Him and honor the work He has done on this earth. It’s our way of slowing down and enjoying all He has done for us by using this time to contemplate His Word and bask in His Glory. It’s our way of practicing what is to come in heaven when we finally meet Jesus Christ face to face.
Doing this has made me think about the current situation the pandemic has had us in the past couple months. I’ve been reflecting on 2 Chronicles 36:21 and wondering if maybe what we are experiencing is an enforced Sabbath? I’m not sure, but it seems like it very well could be. Let’s make the best of this season.
“What if you thought of it as the Jews consider the Sabbath— the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel. Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now, on trying to make the world different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those to whom you commit your life.
Centre down.
And when your body has become still, reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
Know that our lives are in one another’s hands.
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils of compassion that move, invisibly, where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love – for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, so long as we all shall live.”
-Lynn Ungar 11th March 2020
