The Bible says on the seventh day after God created the world, He rested. In many world religions, there’s an idea to keep a sabbath day holy. That day is usually considered a day of rest, where a person is supposed to do the very minimum except to rest and pray.
One of the problems that people in the Bible had with Jesus was that He healed people on the sabbath. He also did other things that were considered outside the rules on the sabbath. His answer was always the same: the laws of man were important, but they shouldn’t ever become more important than the law of God. So yes, it is important to keep the sabbath holy, but if I should see my brother suffering, then I would rather show love and compassion, then worry about the law of man.
I wonder about why God rested on the seventh day. I have a few ideas. First, I think there had to been seven days to indicate that it was a perfect creation. Second, although God is timeless, this story shows God with the context of time indicating that He can understand it. When He created the universe and the earth, He created the concept of time. He may be able to see all time simultaneously, but as a human being, I cannot conceive it. Finally, I believe that the stories in the Bible share spiritual truth. So, if God rested on the seventh day, it is a lesson that as human beings we should also rest.
It should like a simple concept, but when I think about it, human beings have a difficult time with it. People try to go without sleep a lot. The statistics on how many people who are sleep deprived are staggering. Then, yes, people do relax by taking vacations and other recreational activities, but how many actually rest?
I know that I don’t rest enough. I find it very difficult to do so. When I get a migraine headache, the best thing I can do is lie down and get rest. However, I have the most difficult time doing that. I fight it because I want to take care of my responsibilities at work. I want to get up and eat. I get nervous and I feel like just can’t lie down. It sometimes feels like I could do almost anything except rest. And yet, this Bible story tells me that I need to take time to rest. I should just quiet my mind and body to be one with God’s creation. In other words, to quote my mantra: to be still and know God.
Maybe it’s taking the story a little too literal, maybe I should be going to church every Sunday, but I think it means that every so often I need to stop everything and just rest. When I rest, I will experience communion with the universe and its creator, just like God did in the story. He rested and experienced His creation.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
