From the About section of the Rule of Life podcast, “The Rule of Life podcast is designed to guide you in arranging your everyday life around being with and becoming like Jesus.”1 It is hosted by John Mark Comer and produced by Practicing the Way.
What I want to do here is process “out loud” with you what I am learning, thinking, and feeling as a result of this podcast series, especially since I wrote a book entitled You Don’t Have To Do That, which contains a section that specifically addresses the Sabbath. So, right off the bat, let me be upfront. I fall more into the camp that sees Sabbath as a type for which Christ is the antitype. In other words, the Sabbath was instructive about the need for rest and worship, which is now fulfilled through a relationship with Jesus. Basically, He has become our Sabbath. For the sake of time and space, I will leave it at that oversimplification. At the same time, I have thoroughly enjoyed the Rule of Life podcast series on the significance of practicing Sabbath in our lives, and I don’t believe these two positions are at odds.
A quick tangent, for whatever reason, not long after publishing my book, which essentially contends one does not have to rely on religious structures for spiritual nourishment, I found myself longing for some type of liturgical practice. I began watching Lutheran church services online for a while and enjoyed the peace and meaning within the liturgy and routines. I liked the designation of time for prayer, reflection, corporate and responsive readings of Scripture, etc. My wife was questioning if I had lost my mind since I had just spent years writing a book that said no one had to do these kinds of things at the direction of a pastor in an organized church. But this is what I need people to understand. You do NOT have to do them! There is the freedom to walk away at any point. However, they can still serve as great vehicles for focusing on and receiving God’s love and guidance. Like conversation starters or date nights in a marriage, they are practical tools that may help nurture the relationship.
So, with that disclaimer, let’s get back to Sabbath and the Rule of Life podcast. One of the things I love about their teaching is how it is grounded in a larger framework of our need to rest in Christ. They state, “It is important that we work out our salvation from rest, not for it.” They directly confront the fact that we are addicted to hurry. It caused me to reflect on the extent to which I am tempted to think that if I can accomplish more I can achieve peace. The reality is I am already enough and I can receive peace through Sabbath rest. Time with God can liberate me from being desperate for everyone around me to think highly of me. We are invited to see our identity as something God creates and then entrusts us with. Rest becomes the occasion I can find joyful acceptance of my place in the universe. Resting in God is beneficial to us on many levels.
Turning to Sabbath, in particular, the hosts of the podcast remind us Sabbath is a gift before it is a command. Whether we have to keep it or not, the practice of Sabbath is still helpful. Engaging in rest in Christ is always abundantly necessary. It literally helps us remain in Christ, our one job, and prepares us for eternity. Sabbath is the claim that we can live into our eternal rest right now. Sabbath reminds us that we are not meant to hold it all together but that Christ holds everything together. It can be another opportunity to be happy and grateful for the ways God intentionally invites us into relationship with Him. The practice of Sabbath is another opportunity to build the capacity for surrender.
The podcast does a nice job of addressing real-life barriers to Sabbath. The hosts categorize fear of missing out (FOMO) as resistance against Sabbath. Our desire for a constant digital connection to know what other people are doing drives us away from Sabbath. It is important for us to determine what are the demands of what it means to be fulfilled and where we are going to find that fulfillment. The show wrestles with the fact that internal restlessness will often surface when trying to rest in God. Rather than reject it, we can befriend it and learn what it is telling us. It may very well be exposing a need only God can meet. Often, discontentment is the only way to healing. Pain is so often the way in.
I especially appreciate how they had this discussion without bringing in any guilt or shame. In fact, they made it clear the Sabbath discussion does not have to be framed in terms of good and evil. Productivity is not inherently bad. There was genuine transparency about the shared human experience. The truth for me, and all of us, is that once I actually intentionally stop and rest, difficult feelings may emerge. Sadness or anger can be a real part of the Sabbath. If that happens, they give the best advice: FEEL it! Don’t avoid it. Go ahead and meet the feelings face-to-face, knowing that no feeling is final. Sabbath is a safe place to sit with emotions.
NO FEELING IS FINAL.
While developing a theology of rest, we are simultaneously developing a theology of work. Just as rest is necessary, work is necessary. Work is love made visible. Work is healthier when it is moved from consumerism to contribution. Contributing to society in order to bring healing and wholeness in partnership with Christ is hard work.
WORK IS LOVE MADE VISIBLE.
In the end, after reflecting on all the power available to us when we rest in the presence of God, we don’t want to forget that God is joyful. Do you still recognize God in that light? Do I see that Jesus can be fun to hang out with? Some of the time will be heavy and some of it will be light. God will know which is beneficial and our job is to simply receive and respond accordingly. Yet again, for any of this to make sense, we come full circle back to the question I always say is the main one to ask: Who is Jesus to you? If he is not someone with whom you would enjoy spending time, then none of this other stuff about Sabbath or rest really matters.