So having preached on Leviticus 25 recently, I was thinking about what I should have said, which I didn’t… How does this stuff apply to non-Christians? How do you teach it evangelistically? Primarily this stuff is for God’s people, and I think that’s how it should be applied first. But even in the passage it’s said that this Sabbath stuff should be applied to “the temporary residents living among you” – ie. people who don’t belong to God…
So how does the Sabbath and the Jubilee apply to non-Christians?
I think that Rest is something that we all crave… we all at some point find our work frustrating, we all get tired, we all love (at least in theory) holidays and days off… and I know that a lot of my non-Christian friends “live for the weekend” - either because they can play/watch sport, or because they can go to town and get drunk.
I think evangelistically this is a great place to start… agreeing that we all have a longing for Rest.
First… Where don’t you find Rest?… playing sport is great fun, it’s a great rest from work, but it leaves you tired still and you can’t play forever… going out is good fun, it gives you a buzz, getting drunk is great escapism… but you wake up feeling far from rested! Living for the weekend gives a pretty depressed outlook for the rest of the week… can’t we find a way to enjoy the rest of the weekend, but also find rest throughout the week?
Second… Jesus offers Rest! He offers rest from the burden of sin and from the burden of religion. He offers rest in eternity, but rest that starts now in relationship with God.
I think people have a social instinct that church attendance can fulfil… that of belonging, and of collective support… which many ‘modern’ weekend activities cannot.
Take shopping for example. It is ‘leisure’ yes, but is it restful? Clearly not, by the looks on the faces of the beleagered masses leaving Primark every Saturday afternoon. And yet is still what a sizeable minority of people (possibly a majority of the young) would willingly do with the free time… what can the church do about this?
(I do not know the answer by the way… I have lived in a vicarage set beside a shopping centre for a number of years and the only answer I can think of is ‘better marketing’. Sickening as it sounds, you may have to sell the lifestyle first and the content second… Most people have a sense that Bible stories are nice, and hymns remind them of school, but actual theology is a no-go.)
Speaking as a non-christian… I find my rest from music, reading books, good food, and spending time outside. I try to build a healthy amount of reflection into this, in my own atheistic way.
By the by, I would always support restricted trading hours on Sundays – not because it is the Sabbath but because a truly 24/7 trading week would be incredibly unpleasant for all involved, let alone those actually working in the retail and leisure industries. I do not trust employers to respect rest… Rest is worth legislating for.
Hey David – how’s the post coming along?
Interesting that the atheist too has a high value of ‘day off / rest day’ as something ‘sacred’ – it’s almost like we were made for it!
I suppose there is always a constant dissatisfaction with the rest we take… I agree; music, food, outdoors etc. do give rest… but generally imperfect and limited… it doesn’t last forever, and something usually messes it up…
…that’s why it makes us crave for the eternal, unspoilt rest of New Creation, the whole of life is set up to point you to it…