I want my children to know that who they are cannot be reduced to any work they can or cannot do. I want them to know that they were loved before they existed. I want them to know they will always be loved, and I want them to know that love and grace are just part of who they are. I want them to know that love and grace are just part of who God is.<\/p>\n
I need a different story, a story that plays out differently than work, reward, repeat. I need a story that makes room for work but insists that love and grace belong to me and my children no matter what work we can or cannot do.<\/p>\n
In my work as a teacher, youth pastor, and parent, I\u2019ve come to believe that I am not alone in my need for another story. Our world is short on grace. We\u2019re also short on rest.<\/p>\n
In the last decade or so, I\u2019ve come to believe that the Sabbath provides us with just such a story. Through the Sabbath, God tells us another story. It\u2019s a story that doesn\u2019t do away with our work. It\u2019s a story that puts our work in perspective. It\u2019s a story of rest and grace, but it\u2019s not always an easy story to hear.<\/p>\n
Think about this. If you\u2019ve been living your life by the work-reward-repeat cycle, and if that has gone relatively well for you, then rest and grace may upset the cart. Remember the story of the laborers that Jesus told (Matt. 20:1\u201316). The ones who started working at the end of the day received the same wages as the laborers who worked the entire day. Why? Because of grace. That\u2019s not fair. And that\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n
Grace messes with us, especially if we\u2019re hard-working types from anywhere who know how to get stuff done. Grace disorients us. But grace also provides us with an extraordinary promise: Before we existed, before we could do anything to earn it, we were loved.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n “If we and our young people are going to embrace Sabbath rest for the gift that it is, we\u2019ll first need to stop blaming God for our continuous work and reject endless labor as a form of obedience.” https:\/\/t.co\/DbUBUfxjGy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) May 5, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n