“One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels.2 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” 3 Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 5 Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Luke 6.1-5
If you’ve been reading the recent blogs, you know I’m at the Revive Men’s Sabbath this week. It’s a six-day retreat with no schedules, plans, or agendas. We simply enjoy fellowship, hiking, and disc golf during the day, eat dinner at night, and worship afterward. The daytime hours are wide open. This sabbath was designed with these men in mind.
In the same way, the Sabbath that the Lord created was made with God’s people in mind. The sabbath wasn’t instituted so that the sabbath itself might have rest, nor was it given so that we had to obey a ton of rules. The sabbath was made so that we might find rest, renewal, and regeneration in our relationship with God.
When Jesus was walking through the grain fields and allowing his disciples to pick heads of grain and eat them, they were simply enjoying rest while having a snack. The religious leaders accused them of being unlawful. But Jesus reminded them that the sabbath was made for man. Even King David’s men ate the consecrated bread on the sabbath because they were hungry. The sabbath was intended to be a gift to us, not us a gift to it.
This week, the Revive Men’s Retreat was once called the Rocky Mountain Guys Sabbath. That’s exactly what it is—a week of rest and renewal. Our times of worship are epic, real, challenging, and beautiful. God meets with us, cleanses us, renews us, and redeems us. We confess our sin, pray for healing, and find hope in the cross of Christ.
But you don’t have to come to Colorado with Revive to enjoy sabbath. You can take moments of sabbath right where you are, each and every day. Spend time praying, reading his Word, loving God, and loving your neighbor. Sabbath is slowing down enough to find your rest, your sustenance, and your salvation in Christ.
Will you do that today?
“O Lord, you are so good and faithful. This is another wonderful week, year after year, of meeting with you and these brothers. It is a time in which we find our strength in you. Come now, Holy Spirit, help me keep my eyes on you. Bless me in this time and lead me to the path of everlasting life. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen