The Dust of the Ground

It has been a while since January. I am getting ready to worship tomorrow. Worship is about paying attention to God at a particular time and space with the congregants. I wonder what songs the worship team has already picked and practiced and will present them to us with preparation. I also wonder what the passage will be and how the pastor will expound and apply the passage. For the past few years, I sort of knew everything about each worship service. I was part of the group people paid attention to. Now, I pay attention to others who assist me (and other congregants) to worship—paying attention to God.

Now I am more in tune with every weekend. I try to discipline and study on the weekdays. I learn to slow down when the weekend is near. It’s good to have weekend as the weekend. My “weekend” used to be Sunday night and Monday. As a pastor, my pace was different from others. While everybody was having fun on the weekend, I worked hard. (At least, I think I worked hard.)  When I was relaxed, no one had the right mood for my Sabbath. I couldn’t share the weekend mood with others; not many people could understand my Monday Sabbath either. Since January, I’ve been learning to enjoy my weekend. Having the space to do nothing can be a good and gracious thing.

“And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation.” (Gen. 2:3)

“God ceased from his labors because his work was ‘finished’; there was nothing more for him to do (Gen. 2:1-2a)…God rested because the world was now perfectly suited to meet the needs of mankind and, in doing so, to display the glories of its Creator. The Sabbath signified that the world God created was just the way he wanted it. God’s ‘rest’ was the rest of satisfaction and a stamp of approval on his work…The Sabbath was God’s unique declaration of the good news that his provision for his people was perfect (Gen. 1:29-30).”[1]

Learning to stop producing is an act of trust. To follow the pattern of creation is to trust that He always meets our needs in time. The Sabbath cycle is to declare His unceasing provision for us. On the weekend, I learn to stop because I learn to find the rest of satisfaction in Him. I co-create with Him from Day 1 to Day 6. I rest in His perfect creation on Day 7.

Learning to rest means that I am not a machine. The ultimate concern of my existence is not to produce, but to be satisfied in His goodness and live my life according to His good will. Learning to rest is to accept human fragility.

“Shout that people are like the grass that dies away. Their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of flowers in a field. The grass withers, and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people.” (Isa. 40:6)

“In the few days of our empty lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? And who can tell what will happen in the future after we are gone?” (Eccl. 6:12)

“For we are like a breath of air; our days are like a passing shadow.” (Ps. 144:4)

Instead of producing and working constantly, our resting respects God as the Creator and ourselves as creatures. We are like a breath of air. Without the breath of life, we are the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7).

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[1] Scott J. Hafemann, The God of Promise and the Life of Faith: Understanding the Heart of the Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2001), p. 45.