But wait, an assembly line on the Sabbath? Aren't Seventh-day Adventists NOT supposed to work on the Sabbath? That's totally in the Bible!
Okay, maybe I should explain a little bit further. This Sabbath our church got together and packed 30,000 lunches to help feed hungry kids in our community. With a number that high, you can see where some Henry Ford style assembly lines might come in handy! Basically we put in some dried veggies, rice, lentils, and a pinch of salt into a bag. The bags were sealed and put into a box, and then the boxes were loaded onto a truck that, at some point very soon, will be delivering them to a local middle school where there are quite a few underprivileged kids who might otherwise go hungry.
'Well, that's all well and good,' you may be thinking, 'but technically I think it's still working on the Sabbath.' I had the same thought, actually. But then I remembered a great story about Jesus that totally fit what we were doing today. And you know, it's in THREE of the Gospels!
One day Jesus and the disciples were crossing a wheat field. The disciples started to get a little bit munchy, so they picked some of the wheat kernels to snack on. Well, wouldn't you know that there were some Pharisees around who demanded to know why Jesus was letting His disciples break the Sabbath law by working.
You know what Jesus did? He immediately scolded the disciples for working on the Sabbath. No, wait, that's not what He did at all! Jesus reminded the Pharisees of the time King David ate the consecrated temple bread. He also pointed out that the priests worked in the temple every Sabbath, which the scriptures said they should.
Then He summed it all up very nicely, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” (Mark 2:27-28).
I've heard this story so many times in my life, but it's such a short one I never really thought that much about it. The disciples were hungry, they ate, and God is okay with that. But this Sabbath it really hit home. I wasn't hungry myself, but I got the opportunity to spend a little time on a Sabbath afternoon with 190 (or so) people from our church putting together lunches for kids who are hungry.
It really hit home that this is one of the things Sabbath is all about. Sure, I go to church and spend some time in worship, but Jesus also said that the Sabbath was about helping people, just like He did. And today I got to spend a part of my Sabbath doing just that.
What an awesome God we have, and a wonderful church who is willing to spend some time helping others...even on the Sabbath!
To get involved, visit www.feedingchildreneverywhere.com and stay tuned, because Pastor Bernie assured us that this will NOT be the last time we help feed some hungry kids!
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