Our culture today prioritizes busyness. When our schedules are busy, and we are hustling, we feel accomplished and purposeful. We do not often prioritize rest. For many, rest is the first thing we let go of when our calendars fill up. Even though rest is not something that we often prioritize, rest is, indeed, crucial. We know how critical rest is when we go too long without taking time to rest. Even more, God understands how critical rest is. When we choose to obey His command to rest, we reap the benefits.
Jesus reminded a group of religious leaders that following the command in Exodus to rest is beneficial in Mark 2. In this passage of Scripture, Jesus and His disciples were walking through grain fields on the Sabbath day, the day set aside for God’s people to rest. As they were walking through the grain fields, a group of religious leaders saw them "plucking off heads of grain to eat" (verse 23). To the religious leaders, even the mere act of picking the grain to eat violated God's command to rest. Jesus immediately pointed out to them that they were missing the point of the Sabbath. He said, "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath" (verse 27). He mde it clear that God created the Sabbath to benefit humanity and glorify Him. God did not create people for the Sabbath; He created the Sabbath for people as an answer to our deep need for rest.
Jesus made it clear that the command from God to rest was created to meet people's needs to rest. What a kind, loving, and generous God we have that He would care about His people to make rest one of His central commandments. Rest is just as vital for us today as it was in the Old and New Testaments. We need rest. Rest equips us. Rest helps us do everything God has called us to do so we can experience joyous, abundant lives. Take time to rest today.
Think for a moment about how you find rest. Do you find rest by getting by yourself and going on a hike? Do you find rest by getting lost in a good book? Do you find rest by cooking and gathering friends and family together to eat? Make a list of things that genuinely bring you rest. After you have made your list, pick one of those things to do today, even if it is just for 10 minutes. Thank God for the gift of rest that He offers each one of us.
23 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. 24 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”
25 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 26 He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”
27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”
