A Parent´s very best gift

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which he had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which he had done. Genesis 2:1,2

Think about it. God could have chosen a six-day week, couldn’t He? And why not? In a perfect garden no one really gets tired, so who needs a rest? Or the Creator could have chosen an annual celebration of the world´s birthday, just as we do for our own-“Let´s have a party!” Or He could have chosen a monthly festival to commemorate His creation. But clearly there is a longing in the heart of the Creator that cannot be put off for a year or even a month. And so, for the human race, He celebrates the weekly seventh day as the divine gift day. Why?

Think about it some more. What is the most perfect gift that any loving parent can give his or her child? Isn´t iot the gift of uninterrupted, hurried time together? Think back when you were a kid. What is it you remember most? Some toy your dad gave you? Or the time your father gave to you?

My dad was a preacher. And when we were living off the west coast of Japan, at the foot of the Japan Alps, he was planting a church in a large city with hardly a Christian in it. That meant he was busy night and day. But one night he came home and announced to the family that he´d been thinking about it, and had decided that he was going to take every Tuesday off from henceforth. Since we were homeschooled, that meant that on Tuesdays in the spring, summer, and fall we we´d pack a picnic lunch and head out to the beach or go for a bike ride or visit a museum. But in the winter it meant that every Tuesday we´d get up early, pack a lunch, travel by car and train high into the Alps and spend a glorious day skiing together. Now that my father is dead, I look back wistfully across the years that have passed and realized that he gave us the very best gift of all. He didn´t give money - he didn’t have much. He didn´t give toys – we were rather poor. He gave something even better – the gift of uninterrupted, unhurried time with him. The very same gift our Creator Father gives to you and me – 24 hours of uninterrupted, unhurried time with Him – every seventh day.

Which leaves me with two questions: why would anyone ever want to get rid of the seventh-day Sabbath? And why would we ever want the Sabbath to be over?