And You Will Find Rest
Every year, at the beginning of July, the Echo Ranch summer staff take a “Sabbath Week” following five supercharged weeks of summer camp. During Sabbath week, no camps take place, and the intention of the week is to rest from the work of ministry and enjoy fellowship with one another. The intentionality of leadership to provide and care for the summer staff by establishing this Sabbath week was one of the reasons that drew me into serving with Echo Ranch as a full-time staff member.
Now, to be fair, this is not a complete week of rest with zero work for camp’s full-time staff. As the Registration Coordinator, this year there were still 115 campers coming to camp the following week whether I was ready for them or not. And the same is true for the rest of the full-time staff – which is why camp leadership made the decision last winter to incorporate another Sabbath week after the counselors left in August. This Sabbath would be a time set aside for our full-time staff to rest and recharge for the rest of the season’s ministry to take place in the fall.
The concept of a day of rest (or Sabbath) is introduced by God within the first two pages of Scripture. In Genesis 2:3 we read, “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.” This was the very first thing that God set apart, i.e. made holy. In the book of Exodus, in God’s instructions to the Israelites, He says, “Above all they are to keep My Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you… Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.” (Exodus 31:13;15b). Clearly, God is serious about our Sabbaths! So, what does a Sabbath mean in our 21st century context and why is it so important?
The purpose of Sabbath is not just a physical cessation of work. A reading of the Gospels reveals that Jesus was constantly challenging the religious leader’s ideas that God only intended the Sabbath to be a day of rest from physical work. The purpose of Sabbath is to point our hearts and lives to the recognition of God’s rightful place on the throne, and to show us that it is through Christ’s work on the cross on our behalf that Christians are set apart (made holy). Even a quick Google search on “Sabbath” reveals that its purpose is for rest, prayer, celebration, and spiritual reflection – all of the things that God invites His followers to throughout Scripture.
This is Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” This is a challenge to me as I tend to view Sabbath as a break from physical work. I need to view it more as one professor said: “Ceasing from our labor to recognize God’s kingdom and seeking God’s will.” Giving up work for a day is the easy part; intentionally seeking out where I have usurped God’s place on the throne of my life is the hard part. But using a day each week to intentionally learn from Jesus, find rest for my soul, and seek His will in all areas of my life is what I desire my future Sabbaths to look like. May the same be true for you.