I've started a series of letters to my kids based on the 10 Commandments. You can find my other letters in this series by following the links below.
- first letter (introduction)
- second letter (first commandment - no other gods)
- third letter (second commandment - no idols)
- fourth letter (third commandment - don't misuse God's name)
And now for the fifth letter discussing the fourth commandment...
Dear ...
How are you? I hope this letter finds you and your family well. Yesterday was Sunday and we had such a nice day as a family. We spent the morning at church, then ate a meal with our friend, Alex, who is visiting our country from Uganda, Africa. I met him through Compassion because he used to be a sponsored child like you, but now he is earning his doctorate in theology (the highest level of education) and is a pastor of a church in Uganda. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around our city and taking in the beautiful spring weather we've been having. Although it was a full day, it was restful and different from other days in the week.
This brings me to our next commandment - the fourth commandment God gave Moses and the Israelites.
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor you animals, nor the alien within your gate. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
This is probably a tricky one for you to understand since you are still a child, but I think the general idea is that we need to set aside one day a week to rest from our normal work, and take delight in the things God has given us - our family, our surrounding environment, nourishment and more.
In the New Testament we read stories of Jesus healing people on the Sabbath, and the super religious people of the time didn't like it at all. They accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath commandment by doing work, but Jesus was healing people - helping them and loving them. In Mark 2:27 he saids, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." God wants to love us by giving us a day of rest and delight.
This is exactly what we did yesterday as a family. We spent the morning worshipping God with our church family, sharing a meal with a friend, and enjoying each other by spending time together. We rested from our regular schedule of work and school, and enjoyed the gifts God has given us.
I'll include a picture of us with our friend, Alex, and another picture I took while we walked around our city yesterday.
Much love to you and your family,
Kevin, Jill, Sydney and Kayleigh Foley
