At the very beginning of the Law of Moses and of the Christian Scriptures, we learn that God lights all creation and sees that his creation is good.

We also learn that Humanity—both male and female—is created in the image of God

Since we are each created in the image of God, we want the works of our hands to be good, to be very good.

What does this mean?

We manifest this image of God when we work individually to care for our garden and work as a civilization to restore habitats stretching from wetlands to mountains.

We manifest this image of God when we work individually to plant a tree and work as a civilization to restore the air.

We manifest this image of God when we work individually to recycle and work as a civilization to restore the oceans.

We manifest this image of God when we work individually to care for our dog and work as a civilization to care for endangered plants and animals.

We manifest this image of God when we work individually and as a civilization to do to others what we would want done to us. (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 7:12).

We manifest this image of God when we work individually and as a civilization to “let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” (Amos 5:24).

Wow! I’m exhausted just thinking about living this way.

No wonder we burn out when we are actually living this way. When we are actually working to complete the works of our hands in all their vast array. (Genesis 2:1).

Fortunately, God foresaw the potential for getting exhausted and burnt out. So he set us an example by resting on the seventh day.

God created the sabbath. What is a sabbath?

It’s a time for rest.

It’s a time for renewal.

It’s a time to remember that we don’t live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4; John 1:1).

READ MORE

For some additional thoughts about sabbaths, please read “God Gives Moses the Ten Commandments” in my book The Promised Land, at pages 95-98; “Ahab Takes Naboth’s Vineyard” in my book Healing the Promised Land, at pages 221-233; and my blog “Jezebel and Ahab: Greed, Lies and Violence”.

To read more about a Vision of the Good Earth, please read my blog “Apollo 8’s Vision of the Good Earth”, based on pages 137-138 of my book Visions of America (published in one volume with Visions of the Church).