The Church exists to help its members, the members do not exist for the Church. That seems so simple. The Church is not the way, but it is the guide and support on our way, and the key to it. Much like the Sabbath day became for some, I worry that some people have replaced the goal with the tool. That is why Christ had to point out that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The same is true of the Church.
We have Church, like the Sabbath, as a gift from God, not a prison or a taskmaster.
Though, thinking of the Sabbath I remember looking at graduate school materials and reading how Harvard's MBA students were encouraged to take a "sabbath" of sorts, half a day off on Sunday to relax from their labors.
We need surcease and respite, desperately some times. It is so very important that we find it, as a part of survival.
4 comments:
The "Sabbath" at Harvard Business School caught my eye in your post. Until May 2005, the Dean of the Harvard Business School was Kim B. Clark. As you may know, he was just recently installed as the new President of BYU-Idaho, replacing Elder Bednar. I wouldn't be surprised to find Bro. Clark's fingerprints all over that "Sabbath" concept at Harvard Business School.
I agree that we need the sabbath day to bring relief from the toils and troubles of everyday life, and to refocus our hearts and minds on spiritual and eternal matters.
However, for some, its not really a day of "rest". (Not that its a bad thing, necessarily). I currently serve in a Stake calling that keeps me busy for most of the day on Sundays. But even though I am busy on Sundays (perhaps my busiest day of the week), I am also in the Lord's service. And with that service, I feel a strength and a renewal that comes to my soul -- a kind of spiritual rest.
For me, the real challenge will be when I don't have such a busy calling. How well will I use my time on the sabbath then? I will need to spend more time in study, prayer, meditation, and self-directed service on the sabbath. For now, I feel that the Lord blesses and restores my spirit as I fulfill my calling - in compensation for what I would otherwise have been able to do on my own, had I not been so busy in His service.
When we honor the sabbath, we honor the Lord. And when we honor Him, he will, in turn honor us with his love and blessings.
The Church is not the way, but it is the guide and support on our way, and the key to it.
I love that. And I loved the whole post.
i thought that you had emailed me about the conversion story, i can send it along if that was not the case.
thnx
ase
Great Post.
We are often too busy worshiping the Sign pointing to Him that we cease to actually worship what the sign is pointing towards.
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