Walking on the Sabbath
“We live in a culture where no one wants any boundaries. I want my freedom to do whatever I want. Well, could you imagine playing a football game where there were no boundaries. It would be total chaos. That is our world today. We don’t want any boundaries.” – Tony Walliser
Read John 13:31-35
Walking on the Sabbath
We’re less than three months from the official start of football season. Not all of us are big fans, but some of us are counting the days – even the hours – before our favorite team’s opening kickoff. The final games of last season already seem like years ago, don’t they?
Football – specifically, the football field – can teach us a lot about living what we often call “the Christian life.” As you might know, a standard American football field is 53 yards wide and 100 yards long, not counting the end zones. But imagine if the field were 1,000 yards long – and only 10 yards wide. That would make the game totally boring, and pointless. No one would have room to move, much less be able to score.
Let’s take the opposite scenario: Imagine a football field with no boundaries at all. There are no sidelines and no goal line. Nothing’s out of bounds. What kind of game would that be?
Now, apply those images to our calling as Jesus’ followers to walk with Him every day. The narrow, incredibly long field would represent rigid, legalistic churches that insist that if you’re a truly follower of Christ, you’ve got to “play by the rules” – and there are lots of them. The Pharisees of Jesus’ time were like this. They liked laws and regulations; in fact, they were making up new ones all the time.
The football field without boundaries represents churches that distort the teachings of grace and mercy. “God loves you. In fact, He loves you so much that you can do whatever you want and He still accepts you just as you are, no matter what you’re doing.” That is heresy!
Yes, the Lord wants us to be free. But free from sin, so we can be free to become everything He intends for us to be. In fact, the apostle Paul wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery [to the law]” (Galatians 5:1).
However, this doesn’t give us the liberty to do whatever we wish to fulfill our fleshly desires. No, if we’re true followers of Jesus, born again by His Spirit as He said in John 3:3, then our heart’s desire will be to grow in our faith, get to know and love Him more and more, serve Him and those we encounter each day, and tell others about Him.
As Paul went on to say, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a simple command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:13-14).
Just as the boundaries of a football field aren’t intended to restrict and confine, but to provide parameters for fair play and competition, God’s laws aren’t intended to dishearten us or lessen our enjoyment of life. In fact, if we play by His “ground rules,” we’ll discover a life filled with more joy, fulfillment, and purpose than we could ever hope for.
Jesus, who declared Himself to be “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8), wants us to obey His teachings – including the observance of Sabbath rest – so we can enjoy life to its fullest, experiencing the “abundant life” He promised in John 10:10.
So, the next time you watch a football game, remember those boundaries are put there for a good reason. So are God’s commandments!