In a recent podcast I was listening to, the topic of Sabbath came up. It was actually an interesting talk and it made me think a little about my definition of this very churchy word. At the outset of the podcast I started to think that I was pretty terrible at this whole “sabbath” thing. And I’m still not convinced I have it nailed but I do feel a tad less horrible about it!

So who do you sabbath?

I know that sounds like a loaded question, especially since we haven’t even defined it yet. Some people define Sabbath as a day off. Others as a vacation. Still others define the idea of sabbath as a time in worship. We often treat sabbath as if it has to be a time and place away from the crap of life. And for the longest time I believed that I had to schedule my sabbath time far enough on the calendar so as to not let life encroach on my sabbath.

But as I listened to this podcast, I started to realize how wrong that line of thinking was. Now, I know that quiet time is necessary. And I agree that sometimes we do need to find a time and place away from the messiness of life to just rest in a moment of worship and rest. But I’m not sure that’s how sabbath has to work. The more I read how Jesus lived, the more I believe that we might be seeing sabbath in a very limited way.

Sabbath isn’t about escaping life to be with Jesus. It’s about finding Jesus in the midst of life.

Jesus invites us to come to him in the midst of life. He wants us to come to him when we are weary and overwhelmed. He wants us to bring our anxious hearts and fears to him. He wants us to bring him into our workplaces that have been riddled with violence. He wants to join us in the overworked hours of our American culture. Jesus doesn’t call us out of life to experience him. He calls us to experience him in the craziness of life.

So how do you sabbath? Do you fail to rest because you can’t find a quiet place or a time long enough to spend with Jesus? What if he wanted to be a part of your crazy day? What if, instead of trying to escape life, Jesus wanted you to invite him to be a part of your daily life?

You see that’s exactly the point! The command to sabbath isn’t a request to pull away from life and sit in a corner for a day with no connection to humanity. It’s an invitation from a Savior who wants to go through this life with you. It’s your God telling you that he cares about the crappy day you’re having and that he’s there with you through it. Sabbath is about bringing Jesus along in mess of life. How can you sabbath today?