Exodus 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. 16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
This passage of scripture calls upon us to make God the first priority in our lives, by honoring Him in his capacity as our Creator and Redeemer. This is done when our lives are completely surrendered to Him, and when as a result, we are enabled to keep the Sabbath day holy, in addition to all the other commandments He has given. Love to God is measured by obedience to His every word, and is manifested when He is given the first place in our affections and considerations.
We all have a "To do" list for each and everyday, and the way we prioritize them will show where God is placed in our affections. We need to pray and spend quality time with God, but we also need to brush our teeth, to comb our hair, to eat our meals, to work, to attend school, to exercise, to socialize, and to have a good night's rest. All of these things are very important, but the question for us is, where does God fit in on our busy schedules. If for instance on a given day, one of these necessary activities must be surrendered for any reason, does God go out the window, or is it that one of the secular duties will take the hit. The answer to this important question will show us where our true priorities lie.
A good illustration of our need of proper prioritization is given in the experience of Mary and Martha, when Jesus passed by for a visit. Christ was more than likely hungry, and therefore food was being prepared in the kitchen for Him to eat. Now this is what we call an extremely important situation, for when God gets hungry and needs food to eat, all of our energies and planning must of necessity be engaged. However, a strange scene began to unfold in the household of Mary and Martha, for it was observed that Mary wasn't helping at all in the preparation of the meal, but rather was rather sitting quietly, listening to the words of life as they fell from the lips of Christ.
Martha who became upset at her sisters lack of cooperation in the temporal concerns of the moment, lodged a formal complaint with Christ, and in His response, He made on of the most profound statements pertaining to our priorities, ever to fall on human ears. Let's read:
Luke 10:40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
In other words, what Christ was saying to Martha is, if you have to choose between letting God go hungry, or listening to the words of life from His lips, then the temporal food that is being prepared should take a back seat, in favor of time spent in God's presence.
The Sabbath calls us back to a correct prioritization of the necessaries of life, in that it requires that we lay aside our temporal pursuits, in order to spend quality time with our Creator and with one another. As it stands currently, Saturday is one of the busiest days of the week, the day when groceries are made, the laundry is done, the shopping at the mall is attended to, and the little league in the community comes out for practice. The devil has made certain that we are thoroughly engaged as a nation and as individuals in the transient things of life on Saturday, to the neglect of our time with our Creator, and as a direct result, all of the other important issues in our lives fail to be resolved one way or another, because God is placed on the back burner.
That's why a specific promise is made to those who choose to honor God upon His holy Sabbath day, by refusing to allow the mundane things of life to encroach upon the sacred hours, and that's the reason why God is now calling on earth's inhabitants to wake up to our dire need of having Him in first place on our agenda. Let's read:
Isaiah 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
May we begin today to experience the fullness of God in our celebration of the work of salvation He has done all week, and may we always give Him the top priority in our lives, for if we do all the other important issues will fall into their rightful place. God bless!