Sabbath: The Sabbath and the End
Image © Pacific Press
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: James 2:8-13; Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Psalm 33:6, Psalm 33:9; Revelation 14:1-20; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1.
Memory Text: “And to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:9, NKJV).
The essence of humanity’s dignity is a common creation. The fact that we are uniquely created by God places value on every human being. The unborn in the mother’s womb, the quadriplegic teenager, the Down syndrome young adult, and the Alzheimer-afflicted grandmother all have immense value to God. God is their Father. They are His sons and daughters. “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. … And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:24-26, NKJV).
Ours is a shared heritage. We belong to the same family. We are brothers and sisters fashioned, shaped, and molded by the same God. Creation provides a true sense of self-worth. When the genes and chromosomes came together to form the unique biological structure of your personality, God threw away the pattern. There is no one else like you in all the universe. You are unique, a one-of-a-kind creation, a being of such immense value that the God who created the cosmos took upon Himself our fleshly bodies and offered Himself as a sacrifice for you and your sins!
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 20.
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For man to know that he/she is a created being, to know Who our Creator is, to know in Whom our identity is vested in, to know that all of humanity are our brothers and sisters, is all man can aspire to realize as he/she lives in this new paradigm by faith.
We have the records, we understand its theology, we can reason with those who do not believe, though the only difference between the believer and the unbeliever is one's intangible faith. We are called to love our Creator and acknowledge Him as the Authority who governs our lives, instructing us to love our neighbor – show mercy and kindness, because this makes our faith tangible/observable.
We know that our heavenly Father appointed a day of rest. All deserve a day of rest – the animals, the ‘servants’, and the ‘stranger’, but our world developed into a 24/7 hup of activity - no stopping unless one sets aside the time for rest by choice.
I believe that, ultimately, a new earth and the new heavens will reflect the perfect harmony found in the Law of their Creator - 'the by heaven's powers induced' sin and lawlesness will not be found anymore. I am starting to wonder – "there will be no more sea" - are we going to be part of a completely new universe in which mankind inhabits a completely new sphere in which rightouesness dwells?
The quote from James 2:13 states that those who show no mercy will not receive mercy in return. However, mercy triumphs over judgment. It is important to note that the first part of the verse pertains to human judgment, while the second part pertains to God's judgment. Fortunately, God shows mercy towards us despite our lack of compassion towards others. Let us strive to accept God's judgment and offer the same level of fairness to others without any prejudice!
At the end of this lesson for Sabbath, the author says, that the "God who created the cosmos offered Himself as a sacrifice for you and your sins." He should have said that He offered Himself as a Sacrifice for "..you and me and all of the sins of mankind past, present, and future."
It is sometimes mind boggling how it can be possible that every individual person in this world is special to God when there are billions of people on this planet and absolutely countless planets, and galaxies out there in the universe.
We tend to get a feeling of being lost in the crowd. Sure God loves the crowd, but ........
We've experienced the feeling one gets in a huge crowd, of being just an unidentified human, nothing more than an occupier of a small space, basically unnoticed and unimportant.
The song explains the dilemma:
In the stars His handiwork I see
On the wind He speaks with majesty
Tho' He ruleth over land and sea
What is that to me
I will celebrate nativity
For it has a place in history
Sure He came to set His people free
What is that to me
'Til by faith I met Him face to face
And I felt the wonder of His grace
Then I knew that He was more
Than just a God who didn't care
That lived away out there
And now He walks beside me day by day
Ever watching o'er me lest I stray
Helping me to find that narrow way
He's ev'rything to me.
Sabbath, to be a meaningful experience, needs to be understood from the sense that God walks beside "me" every day, a very personal God, interested in all my work and projects, and He longs for special time with "me" personally, on the day He set aside for that purpose.
If we don't have that sense that God wants to spend that special time with "ME" and I want that special time with Him, then the Sabbath loses it's specialness and becomes only a cultural thing.
Indeed, so true. Matt 5:30... Who touched My clothes? ... was asked in a crowd... Demonstrating to us in a loving way, not only that He knows who we are but also our every move and thoughts, and action. Ever so eager, stopped right in His tracks, to grant mercy and healing to show His appreciation to the one whom (Acts 17:26 ...He has made from one blood...), and who did not hesitate to display her faith in her Creator even if it was one small touch.
I loved that song. It would be great to see it revived.