Contemplate

“For whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” – Hebrews 4:10

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” – Exodus 20:8

Sabbath is not merely about getting away from work, but drawing nearer to God. At its heart, to Sabbath is to contemplate God. We are entering into God’s rest. We are treading upon God’s time. It is holy ground. We cannot exist within such time without looking for and upon God.

Thomas Merton writes, “Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable; it is true.” Sabbath is a time when we look a bit more for the divine shining through. We notice the gifts and graces that we are usually too preoccupied to see. We appreciate not only their existence, but what they show us about the nature and character of God. We reflect upon how God has been working in our lives. We receive words he may have for us through community. We look for his glory all around. We contemplate his love.

To contemplate is simply to give God our attention. We give so many things our attention, but just as we would with a beloved, we need at intervals to gaze without distraction upon the one whom we love and who loves us. This is that time. Wendell Berry writes in one of his Sabbath poems, “I know that I have life only insofar as I have love. I have no love except it come from Thee. Help me, please, to carry this candle against the wind.”