God in the Rhythm of Life
Dear Hope Church Family,
September brings a certain rhythm that is welcome after even the best of summers. Soon our days and weeks, and months will be scheduled and structured in ways that we might appreciate and resent in alternating waves.
I keep a to-do list on my desk, in my car, and in my phone. I have too many lists in too many places, but it feels comforting to write down things that need to be done. I am often struck by how powerful those little lists can feel. They offer satisfaction as I compile them and then complete them. But they also taunt me when they remain unchecked.
Often we make ambitious to-do lists and then fall woefully short of our projections, but every now and then, we “crush it,” completing our list with time to spare. After a day like that, the next day (or list) feels so much more do-able. When we inevitably cannot repeat the feat, we feel THAT much more shame. “I did it all yesterday, what is wrong with me today!”
We are made in the image of a God who (over the first 6 days ever) created a list of things that he meant to accomplish each day. Each day he finished his list and was satisfied with his work. “He saw that it was good.” God shows us what it looks like to do things in an intentional, ordered way. He set aside time to accomplish something and then did it. Maybe that is why to-do lists and schedules appeal to us. We are hardwired for them.
The 10 Commandments (which reveal God’s character to us) show up two times in the Old Testament (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5). In the first, the Sabbath law (which is about how we spend our time) is grounded in God’s process of creation. Since we are created in his image, we long to set aside time to complete our work and reflect on it approvingly. When it does not happen, we feel the limits of our creature-ness; though we bear his image, we are not God. We are inspired by his Law and killed by it at the same time. It shows us his character and it shows us our need for a savior.
In Deuteronomy, the same commandment is (this time) grounded not in creation, but in God’s having delivered his people from slavery. Because of that, all of our obedience, work, and tasks are pursued not under the threat of punishment, but from a place of freedom.
As calendars and lists take over, remember these two things:
- When you get that warm feeling that comes with making and finishing your list, rejoice. You are created in God’s image.
- When you hear that little voice mocking you for your inefficiency, take comfort. You are not under a taskmaster, but belong body and soul to a loving God who has already delivered you from slavery through the shed blood of Jesus.
Ben