Body and Soul
The Lord has created us both body and soul, and so when we come to the Sabbath, I think we take care of both of those things. You might say, Okay, if I just laid around on my couch all day, was that a Sabbath rest?
Well, no, probably not because Sabbath is both body and soul. But there is a component of physical rest that the Lord has built into the Sabbath. Even in his Sabbath command in Exodus there was a Sabbath given to the animals to not do any work. And so there is that physical component to resting.
Sabbath Rest
Megan Hill, Winfree Brisley
This volume of TGC's Disciplines of Devotion series invites women to stir their affections for God by cultivating the biblical practice of Sabbath rest.
But I think the emphasis of the Sabbath is really on our soul and what’s good for our soul, and so we’re freeing up our bodies. If that means taking a nap on Sunday afternoon so we can be better prepared to enjoy God’s people in a small group meeting or a worship service, or so that we can have more mental clarity to study God’s word or spend time with family, then I think that’s a good thing.
But then we also have to make sure that we’re paying attention to our souls on the Lord’s day, doing those spiritual things, like spending time with the Lord and meeting with the Lord, which is what he gives us that day for.
Megan Hill is the author of Sabbath Rest.
Megan Hill (BA, Grove City College) is the author of several books, including Praying Together; A Place to Belong; and Meg Is Not Alone. She also serves as the managing editor for the Gospel Coalition. A pastor’s wife and a pastor’s daughter, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and four children, where they belong to West Springfield Covenant Community Church (PCA).
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