Let’s talk about the Sabbath…

To help with this discussion, I will be using scriptures from the King James Version of the Holy Bible (KJV).
In Mark 2:27-28, Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.”
What does that mean?

The Sabbath was made for humans to set aside time to glorify God.
The Sabbath was NOT made to restrict humans to a schedule to glorify God.
When you are filled with the Spirit of God, and you allow that Spirit to rest, rule, and abide within you, the Spirit of the Lord will lead you to remember the Sabbath.

Let’s break this down even further…

Thinking about #1, what can we do to glorify God?

Any time that we exude and exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, we glorify God. Galatians 5 tells us all about the fruit of the Spirit, as well as the works of the flesh. However, let’s focus on the fruit of the Spirit for now, since the works of the flesh are some things all of us have practiced as sinners.

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance…” When we practice this fruit, we will glorify God. Let’s dig a little deeper.

How do we practice love? 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 gives us the recipe for love. The King James Version uses the word “charity” for love, which makes sense if you think about it. Charity is something that you share willingly, and love is the same thing. Furthermore, God is love, so we can always look to Him for love, and about love. John 3:16 reminds us that God loves us so much that He gave his only begotten son Jesus Christ to die for our sins so that we will have an opportunity to live our eternity with Him in heaven. Of course, we must believe in who He is and what He has done for us and choose to live for him every day.

Here is the recipe for love, as found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

Love is long suffering, which means love is patient. If you are not patient with others, you are not showing them love. You must be patient to glorify God. Think of how patient God has been with each of us. His son died for each of us when we were deep in our sin. God loved us that much before we even existed. As we learn how to live a righteous life, which takes some of us many years, remember to always be patient. God is growing my patience every time I leave home to drive somewhere…
Love is kind, which goes beyond being nice to people. When you show kindness, you go beyond sympathy and empathy. You can feel sympathy for someone when they are struggling, or sick, or mourning, etc. For example, you probably sent them a “good well soon” card when they are in the hospital. You can feel empathy for someone when you have been through what they are currently going through. For example, I lost my mom in 1999, and her sister, my auntie, became my second mom. Unfortunately, my auntie died in 2008. Because I had already experienced that same loss, I could empathize with my cousins. However, you show compassion when you have a kind spirit. We can all feel sympathy and empathy for people, but when you have compassion, you act on those feelings and do something to help the people in need. That is true kindness that emulates the compassion Jesus felt towards the people he encountered while He walked the earth as part-human.
Love does not envy anyone. Do you know the difference between envy and jealousy? When a person is jealous, they are concerned that someone is going to take what belongs to them. God is a jealous God because Satan wants to take away His chosen people by stealing, killing, and destroying them (John 10:10 KJV). On the other hand, envy shows when a person wants what belongs to someone else. God has no need to be envious because everything already belongs to Him. We do not need to envy anything that someone else has because already said that He will supply our every need (Philippians 4:19), and when we “delight in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart.” (Psalm 37:4) This scripture means that we need to be pliable. We need to allow the Lord to mold and shape us into whatever He wants. He is the Potter and we are the clay. When we submit our all to God, we will see our desires align with His as our prayers change. If we operate in God’s will, He will give us what we desire and ask for. Knowing that, we do not have to envy anyone.
Love does not boast about itself. When you toot your own horn more than someone else’s you are not walking in love. Sometimes people think more highly of themselves than they should. Romans 12:3 tells us not to do that. Often, when people think too highly of themselves, they also tend to live beyond their means. They find themselves deep in debt with seemingly no way out. They do what they can to keep their heads above water, but often struggle, causing them to make more bad decisions.
Love is not prideful. We need to be more humble and thankful. If you do something that causes others to be proud of you, gratefulness should be in your heart, not pride. Instead of being proud of yourself, be thankful and grateful to God for helping you get it done. He could have allowed you to fail, but He chose to allow you to be successful. Do not ever think that you did it all by yourself. God is in control, not you, so be thankful and grateful, not prideful.
Love knows how to behave properly. When you have love in your heart, you know how to carry yourself. You are professional at work. You have fun with your friends and family members. You are not posting your drama on social media. You are not arguing with people who have a different opinion than yours. You respond properly to various situations. You treat people the way you want to be treated.
Love is not selfish. The scripture says she (charity) “seeketh not her own.” We need to have more of a selfless spirit that focuses on the welfare of other people. Of course, you need to take good care of yourself so you can take care of others, but don’t get to the point where you are only focused on taking care of yourself. Since becoming disabled, I still try my best to help others. I know my life is not about me. I am commanded to put God first, loving Him with all that I am, and love everyone else as I love myself.
Love is not easily provoked. How much does it take for you to become combative, argumentative, or annoyed? Does every little thing set you off or irritate you? This part of the love recipe goes in hand with #6. How do you respond when someone is pushing your buttons? Do you react or do you remain calm? When you are filled with the loving spirit of God, you are not quick to react. Generally, the person trying to provoke you will back off if you do not engage with them.
Love does not think about anything evil. Do you have wicked thoughts, troublesome thoughts, destructive thoughts, or vengeful thoughts? Do you ever want to harm another person, or an innocent animal? Do you ever dream of creating chaos or drama for other people? Do you ever want to create a crime, or deliver a joke that is knowingly more offensive than funny? Do you ever participate in road rage? Do you ever let anger guide your actions? Any and all of these thoughts can be considered evil. If you fill your spirit with love, you will not have a desire to think of evil things.
Love does not rejoice in iniquity. What is iniquity? It is anything that goes against God’s law and His commandments. Another name for iniquity is sin. Sin is anything that goes against God, His laws, and His commandments. When someone commits a sinful act, we are not supposed to be happy about that. If we see someone fighting in the street and harming each other, we are not supposed to take joy in watching it. We should not be excited for people participating in sinful acts of homosexuality or anything else that God hates. We are to love such people and pray for them, but we are not to be accepting of their sinful acts. We need to share the good news of the Gospel with them and plant seeds to lead them to Christ so that their souls can be saved.
Love rejoices in the truth. Lies do not equal love. If you love someone, you need to be honest with them. John 8:44 tells us that the devil (Satan) is a liar, the father of lies, and the truth is not in him. Satan does not and cannot love anyone because there is no truth in him. On the other hand, God is love and God is truth. We can rejoice in God, in His truth, and in His love.
Love bears all things. When someone has love in their heart, they try to help wherever they can. They feel the pain of others. They are burdened by the needs of their neighbors. Without love, people tend to only care about themselves and their own wants and needs. They do not have time to be bothered with what anyone else is going through. When asked for help, the person without love in their heart immediately responds with a no, claiming they cannot help without even trying.
Love hopes all things. The person with love in their heart is always hopeful. They always see a silver lining. They never give up. They try and try until they cannot try anymore. They are not easily defeated. Love prompts you to never lose home, even in seemingly impossible situations. They lean on the scriptures that say, “with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; and Luke 1:37)
Love endures all things. Have you ever been in a relationship that takes a turn for the worst? It can be financial hardships, unfaithfulness, a lack of commitment, or anything else that can cause a person to want to end the relationship. If someone is married and these things happen, they might try to stick it out because of love. If a parent has a sick child, they will endure the sickness for as long as it takes because of love, even if it lasts a lifetime. If parents lose a child for whatever reason, the ones with love in their heart will endure through the pain and grief. However, those without the love of God may crumble under the pressure. I am very thankful for the time I had with my son. He passed at the age of eighteen, and the love of God was the only way I was able to endure. I still miss him, but I know he is safe with the Lord.
Love never fails. If all else fails, love will never fail. 1 Corinthians 13:8 says that prophecies will fail, but charity (love) will not; tongues will cease, but charity (love) will not; knowledge will vanish away, but charity (love) will not. Love will always exist because God will always exist. False prophets will fail because their prophecies will not come true. While speaking in tongues is one evidence of the Holy Ghost, it is not something that everyone will do, and those who do it may not do it forever. As we age, our memories tend to be forgotten, and some people develop aging diseases that cause their memories to vanish, like dementia or Alzheimer’s, leaving them without knowing who they are.

To circle back, love is the first fruit of the Spirit. If you follow the recipe for love, you will be able to show the other fruits as well. If you focus on the love of God, you will find unspeakable joy, peace that passes understanding, patience like Job, gentleness like a dove, goodness like Jesus, faith like David, humility like Moses, and self-control like Daniel. To reiterate, these are things we can use the Sabbath for to glorify God.

That was a lot for my first point about the Sabbath. However, it was imperative for me to explain how we can glorify God because the Sabbath was made for humans to set aside time to glorify God. Now let’s look at my second point, which says that the Sabbath was NOT made to restrict humans to a schedule to glorify God. This is backed up by Romans 14:5-6, which reads: “[5] One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. [6] He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.”

To explain this better, I will look at how there is a disagreement about which day should be dedicated to the Lord as the Sabbath. Some people say that the Sabbath day should be on Saturday because it is the end of the week and God rested at the end of the week on the seventh day. Some people say the Sabbath should be on Sunday because it is the first day of the week, and we need to give God our first fruits. These beliefs are held by different church leaders who use this to decide when to hold their worship services. However, this should not be the extent to which someone remembers the Sabbath.

While attending church is one way to glorify God, it should not be the only way. As I previously mentioned, we glorify God whenever we operate with the fruit of the Spirt. This should be done every day of the week. In addition, some people have other responsibilities that hinder them from attending church on Saturday or Sunday, like work commitments. Does that mean God will send them to hell because they missed a worship service on those days? Of course not! We already know this because of Romans 14:5-6. It also tells us that it does not matter what day we choose to dedicate to God because it is for Him. It also tells us that it is ok to dedicate every day to God because it is still for Him. Personally, I try to give God glory every day, and even more on Sundays when I worship with like-minded saints. I try to honor Hebrews 10:25 three times per week by not forsaking the assembling of the saints so I have an opportunity to uplift and encourage my brothers and sisters.

Last, but not least, remember the Sabbath based on where God leads you, not based on what someone has told you that you must do. When you are filled with the Spirit of God, and you allow that Spirit to rest, rule, and abide within you, the Spirit of the Lord will lead you to remember the Sabbath. If He wants you to dedicate one day to Him, or every day to Him, He will lead you to do it on whatever day(s) will be most beneficial. God would never order you to worship Him on a day that is too difficult for you to do it. He wants to encourage you to worship Him and He wants to make that easy for you, so you have no excuses.

I hope this helps you understand the Sabbath more. The key thing to remember is that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.