Practicing Sabbath All Week Long

Practicing Sabbath All Week Long

This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath? Luke 13:16

I grew up in a community, and in a family, that respected the Sabbath as a day of rest. We went to church and then went home for lunch. After that, we spent the rest of the day taking it easy.

However, on the farm, the animals didn’t know it was the Sabbath. For their well-being, we had to keep up some of our daily chores. The time spent caring for them required us to leave our resting mode and work a little, even on Sunday. We also had to take care of any emergencies that came up, such as the birth of a calf.

Jesus recognized that there were times when resting on the Sabbath didn’t make much sense. In Luke 14, he asks the Pharisees if the law permits him to heal on the Sabbath. When the Pharisees refuse to answer, Jesus calls them hypocrites. If one of the Pharisees’ oxen fell into a pit on the Sabbath, the Pharisee would certainly rescue it.

As farmers, we always looked at our Sunday farm duties as our “ox in the pit.” And as a doctor, I understand Jesus’ desire to heal the hurting, even if it’s on the Sabbath.

I never felt as if I was breaking the Sabbath by doing my job. After all, Jesus never turned away someone in need. Though the Pharisees tried to argue with him or shame him when he performed miracles on the Sabbath, Jesus was there to do his Father’s work, regardless.

Has there ever been a time when you were more concerned with getting to church than with loving your fellow man? Church is important. We should worship regularly with other believers. But if we insist on being in church or resting instead of caring for, listening to, or praying for someone in need, we’re missing the point of the gospel. When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus said, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39).

TODAY’S RX

Loving others as you love yourself may mean that sometimes you have to sacrifice going to church in order to help.

Thank you, Jesus, that you know my needs and care for me regardless of the day. Help me to have the same compassionate spirit to those in need around me.