Sunday · May 31
A Busy Life
A young mother had many chores to do before Sabbath. But so many things got in the way. On Sabbath morning, the young mother woke up early. She noticed the bathroom was dirty. So, she cleaned it real fast. She also saw that her young son wet his bed. So, she put his sheets into the washer with other dirty laundry. Then she made breakfast. She remembered that she didn’t make any dessert for Sabbath lunch. So, she baked banana bread. Her husband needed a shirt ironed for church. So, she did that, too. Then she folded some clean clothes and took out the trash.
Then the young mother thought, “What am I doing?! It’s Sabbath! I love this day better than any other day! But I’m letting all these things get in the way of coming close to God in my heart. That’s what Sabbath is really about.”
For just a few seconds, the young mother started to make excuses for her behavior. All those chores needed to be done, right? Or did they really? She knew that she was behaving the same as Jesus’ friend Martha. Martha “became angry because she had so much work to do” ( Luke 10:40 , ICB). But Jesus said to Martha, “ ‘You have troubles in your mind [are worried] about many things. But only one thing is really important. That is what Mary has chosen to do. Nobody will take it [what she chose] away from her’ ” ( Luke 10:41, 42 , EASY). One thing is really important: spending time with Jesus. But not just on Sabbath. We must spend time with Him daily. The young mother loved God. But she forgot that He gave her the Sabbath as a gift to make their relationship strong. Tears fell from her eyes as she stood in the kitchen.
This story is not about what we should or shouldn’t do on the Sabbath. This story helps us remember why we must not let anything break our relationship with God. When our hearts feel pain from sin and separation, Jesus is very close ( Psalm 53:2 ). Jesus holds white clothes in His hands. Jesus sees our tears. He knows we feel sorry for our sins. Jesus takes away our sins, the same as dirty clothes. Then Jesus puts the clean white clothes around us. These clothes are an example of how Jesus obeyed God. Jesus’ perfect life covers us the same as white clothes.
What do Isaiah 64:6; Zechariah 3:4; and Isaiah 61:10 promise us? Why must we hold on tight to these promises? What do these verses teach us about Jesus’ perfect life of obedience? Why is this life so important to us?