Lenten Devotional – March 8, 2023

Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Four Thousand Weeks – Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
Lenten Devotional by Georgie Bever

Let’s get the arithmetic over with first. 
4,000 weeks divided by 52 = 76.9 years.
80 years times 52 = 4,160 weeks
Current life expectancy in the United States is 79.11 years.
79.11 times 52 = 4,114 weeks
If you are 45 years old, you have lived 2,340 weeks.
4,114 weeks minus 2,340 weeks = 1,774 weeks

Now that we have that over with, we can focus on the Sabbath.  Every time the word “week” is used above, you could read “sabbath”.   By virtue of the title of the book, (. . .Time Management for Mortals), we are talking about managing our time on the Sabbath.  God gave us the Sabbath.  It is a gift from Him.  It is the gift of rest.  It is also a gift of time to show love not only to God but to our neighbors.

Some years ago, I taught Junior High Sunday School and led the youth group at a local church.  Every year, from November to May, two or three of the young men were absent from church on Sundays.   The first year I didn’t think anything of it until they returned in May.  When I welcomed them back, I asked them why we hadn’t seen them since November.  There answer was, “Oh, we play hockey, and we always have games on Sunday.”  I was not happy to hear this.  In my mind they were not obeying the rules of the Sabbath as I personally interpreted them.  Was I wrong? Maybe. 

Remember, God made the Sabbath as a gift to us.  A time to relax, spend time with family and friends, and to also spend time with Him.  I still have contact with those two “young men”, who are now in their 50s.  They have turned out to be good members of society and continue to be followers of Jesus. 

How are you going to spend your remaining Sabbaths?

Prayer thoughts:
Think about how you have spent your Sabbaths lately.   Does the Sabbath have to be on Sunday?  Have a conversation with Jesus about how he and his Father want you to spend time resting and regenerating every week.