“Abby, what
do you think it means to ‘remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.’?” I asked as we were walking and talking. I saw that someone had written The Ten
Commandments in sidewalk chalk. When I
asked the question, I was not prepared for the simple answer that she
gave. Without a moment of hesitation,
she said, “To celebrate Jesus and make his day special.” Whoa!!
Her answer was so simple, yet so profound that it made my heart leap. In those words, she beautifully captured
God’s desire. God wants us to celebrate
the day of rest, Sunday. Often, Sunday
becomes like any other day. I fear
that, for most of us, there is nothing that distinguishes Sunday from any other
day of the week. We do nothing different
than we do Monday through Saturday. Do
we celebrate Sunday? Or is it just a day
to catch up on chores, and other things.
Do we make it a day for celebrating God?
Or celebrating ourselves and doing what we want. I confess that often I am guilty of getting
into a rut. I sometimes make going to
church a thing I can check off for the week.
God wants a celebration and love.
Her words made me reflect and reevaluate how I spend Sundays. I want to be excited for Sunday. I want to make it a time of reflection on
Jesus in whatever I’m doing. Whether
I’m compelled to work, or at church, or napping or something else, I want to be
celebrating Jesus. It's extremely hard
in our culture to celebrate Jesus; there is a myriad of things to do and places
to go. We live in a culture that thrives
on busyness. The results are that there are many things vying for our
attentions. It seems that just getting to church is a struggle for most of us,
and even when we are there we get distracted by other things. God’s desire is that we celebrate Jesus and
make Sunday incredible.
So on
Sunday, I will:
Wear my best clothes (because God is
important to me, I will dress for HIM)
Make sure I’m rested (I don’t want to be
tired when I meet with God)
Focus on God (Whatever other things
threaten to crowd in, will have to leave.
I’m spending time with God)
Spend extra time with God
Make a special “Sunday” tradition. Growing up, it was a special dinner. When my daughter was home, it was playing
guitar. I still miss it.
I know that
many of these can be done any day of the week, but they can also be done
intentionally on Sunday. Whatever you
decide to do, make it a point to celebrate Jesus.
