Daily Lesson for May 4, 2018

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Leviticus chapter 23 verse 3:

“For six days shall work be done; but the seventh day is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no work: it is a sabbath to the Lord throughout your settlements.”

There is an old story about a Westerner who hired an African guide to take him to Kilimanjaro. After walking for several days, the guide refused to come out of the lean-to the next morning. The Westerner was frustrated and asked why they were not up and moving. “Because,” the guide said, “I have to give time for my soul to catch up with my body.”

We are very busy bodies. For most of us it’s go, go, go and run, run, run. But with all that going, our souls get left behind. 

God gave us Sabbath in order for our souls to catch up with our bodies. Sabbath is not only a good idea; it’s a command. It’s a commandment. We have to take time to rest, to rejuvenate, to breathe, and pray, and play.  We have to take time to be still and know that God is God and we are not. Sabbath is God’s gift to us, given to remind us that God is at work even when we are not and God’s kingdom is growing even while we are at rest.

Will we ever get to Kilimanjaro? Who knows. But this is for sure: it would be no good for our bodies to reach the mountain and only then discover we left our souls somewhere on the path behind.