Sabbath Resting

"Sabbath, as the practice of regularly retreating from our rituals of work, teaches us that in our absence, the world still spins on its axis.  Apparently the sun remembers to rise and set without our reminding it to check its day planner.

Sabbath is a similar kind of celestial event.  Like the North Star, it rises every week from the horizon of work to teach us what is most fundamental to nature's law:

The Creator, not the creature,                 

  sustains the breath and being of the universe.

...Sabbath has always been a transaction of trust.

When we pause, we create necessary and holy distance from the petulant idea that we are ultimately in charge of anything.
  
When we rest, we remember our limited role as Creatures.

Sabbath is the habit of humility we can wear every week, forcing us to relinquish illusions of our indispensability. In humble worship and rest we finally learn to remember that we are productive only as God establishes the work of our hands." (Psa. 90.17)

These wise words were penned by Jen Pollock Michel, a writer, wife and mother living in Toronto, Canada. Jen also writes a column in Christianity Today, byline "Hermeneutics."

I met Jen on the pages of CT and have come to appreciate her writings and insights. She is a rare young woman in today's society, Christian or not, a thinking woman of balance who acknowledges the God-ordained order of a loving and productive life which leads to peace and contentment. She also, quite obviously, has the gift of words.

www.findingmypulse.com  is where you will find her charming blog about herself, her family and her faith.

Regarding Sabbath Rest, there is no finer book available, to my mind, than Mark Buchanan's titled The Rest of God, Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath.Mark's writings are trustworthy and very enjoyable reading as well. He too, has the gift of words and wise insight.

I thank God for the likes of these who have the ministry of writing and the discipline required to lay it down that others may be encouraged, challenged and blessed.

Good Sabbath!