WHO NEEDS SABBATH?

     Who needs Sabbath? Isn't it an outdated concept from some old history book? Don't tell that to author and pastor Mark Buchanan.  In his book THE REST OF GOD-RESTORING YOUR SOUL BY RESTORING THE SABBATH (2006, W. Publishing Group) Buchanan tackles the 'ancient' subject. In his mind we all need a time to rest. Whether you're a college student busy with papers and exams or a parent trying to take care of your kids and all that entails, it is a good and healthy thing to take one day a week-it need not be Sunday, and refresh yourself. God gave us Sabbath as a gift. Not only do we need to take a day a week to rest, we need to find times during our busy week to remember, reflect and anticipate. We need to reflect on who we are, who God is, what really matters to us.  A main enemy of Sabbath keeping is busyness. 
     The Sabbath points towards the eternal rest we will experience in heaven.  If we experienced perfect rest here, we would have no need for heaven.  Our citizenship is in heaven.
     Buchanan challenges the old idea of Sabbath being a time where you could have no fun. Not so many generations ago, you couldn't even throw a ball on the Sabbath.  Buchanan says legalism then, is another enemy of Sabbath keeping. On the Sabbath he says, we should do things that aren't necessary and things that we enjoy doing. 
     I have to admit I wondered how one could write a whole book on the Sabbath, but Buchanan has done just that and done it well.  He is a skilled writer.  If you find your life spinning out of control, with all your obligations and pressures pushing in on every side, I recommend finding time to read this book which offers solid practical advice on how to keep the Sabbath meaningfully, and find your center again.