I have a theory I’d love to test – if that were possible.  My theory...?  That the most vibrant Christians are those who make the best use of the Sunday.  I’ll stick my neck out a little further.  It often seems to me that generally those who treat Sunday as special are those who have most got their act together.

Think about!  For nearly two thousand years Sunday has been a day when Christian people have met together for worship.  I’ve lost count of the number of times people have told me that Sunday worship is a time for them to recharge their batteries.  Okay, maybe I’m addressing some folk for whom a weekly church service is not a priority.  I feel a tad sad for such people.  I leaned early in life that times of worship are God’s gift to us.  I must have been all of twelve when I asked my mother why it is that we have to go to church every Sunday.  Her answer has stayed with ever since: “Oh, we don’t have to go to church; we’re allowed to go to church.  Isn’t that a wonderful privilege that God wants to meet with us in a special way every week again?”  Yes, there are times when church services become problematic – but by opting out we shoot ourselves in the foot!

Of course I must not limit the blessings of the Sunday only to times of corporate and public worship.  Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.  The Lord who made us knows that we can’t work flat out seven days a week without suffering the penalty for it.  In a fallen world we need those weekly times of rest and refreshment.

In that context let me share two stories.

One comes from the period when the Voortrekkers settled in South Africa.  The story is told of two companies of wagons setting out for the Transvaal.  The race was on for the best tracts of land.  One company of wagon trains was made up of Christians who paused every Sunday and rested.  Come Monday morning they would head off again refreshed for another week on their great trek.  The other company of wagon trains consisted of people who cared neither for God nor His commandments.  The intriguing thing is that both lots of wagons reached their destination at the same time – but the company that rested every Sunday got there in far better shape than the other.

A second illustration comes from a church member I knew.  He took over a convenience store from a Greek family who had operated it for some years from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.  The owners had reached the point where they couldn’t keep it up anymore and were anxious to sell.  When our church family took over they announced to the customers that in future the shop would be closed on Sundays, explaining that they needed a day of rest and that as Christians they wanted to worship God on the Lord’s Day.  The previous owner warned the Christian family that they wouldn’t survive in the business unless they served customers seven days a week.  The reality was that at the end of the first year the new owners had achieved a higher turnover than the previous owners.  Was that a case of God honouring those who honour Him?  Or was it simply that those who take time out to be revitalised, approach life and work with fresh vigour and therefore achieve more in the long run?

Today, more than ever, we need to think about the reason for God setting apart one day in seven for rest.  We’re often told that with increasing technology we will have more leisure time.  Reality though, is that many of us actually don’t have more time for rest.  With all the extra leisure activities we squeeze in, life has only become more hectic.  It’s a little sad when Sunday too becomes crammed with a full agenda and becomes so hectic that by the end of the day we find ourselves no more refreshed and revitalised than when we started.

Let me hasten to add that I’m not advocating a return to the days when Sundays were for doing absolutely nothing but sleeping and reading and when the kids were bored out of their brains.  Let’s challenge each other instead to be creative and make them restful and enjoyable days for family and friends.

John Westendorp