I bring to you the last part of the iHonor Series – iHonor Myself.
So far we have covered honoring God and others. Though all of the honor you give is almost always three-dimensional, I will be focusing on not so much how, but why to honor your own being – body, soul and spirit – and how it is connected to living in a place of rest.
Perhaps many of you have heard of the Ten Commandments, if not, they are represented in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:4-21. In short, the first three have to do with honoring, loving and worshiping God like nothing else. The last four are the most famous ones and often quoted: do not murder, commit adultery, steal, testify or covet against your neighbor. Interestingly, right in the middle stand two commandments that are the only ones that ask us to do something – all the others say, “don’t do this!”
Rest and Honor are the only two things that you shall do. While the command to honor is directed at honoring your parents, the command to rest has everything to do with honoring yourself and God in You. Honoring yourself is a big deal to God.
This command to Rest (or Sabbath) is described in Exodus 20:11:
Because the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Living From A Place of Rest
When we look at the history of creation in Genesis 1, we see that God rested not because He was tired (although, for us it means that), but it is in His nature to reflect and enjoy what He created, including you and me.
On the sixth day, God formed the human in His likeness – (Genesis 1:27). We are the first ones that He actually touched with His hands (everything else God had only spoken into existence) and then breathed His own breath into (Genesis 2:7). After this “Grand Finale of Creation” – he looked back and said it is very good.
In English, these last words don’t carry half of the weight it does in Hebrew, so a proper translation would have been – God sat back, relaxed, looked at you and me and said – THIS IS AWESOME!
The New Testament tells us how this Sabbath/Rest is not only a weekly practice, but also a place you live from (Hebrews 4). Just as Jesus slept in a boat during a deadly storm (Matthew 8:24), your heart, mind and body should abide and dwell in a place of inner rest, in the midst of all the worries about life and yourself.
You should continually sit back, relax, look in the mirror to see God’s glory (aka You!), and say this is awesome! If you do this, you won’t be tempted to put your value in anything else.
Princesses, when you begin to see God’s intentions in creation – the value and delight that God sees in you – you will honor Him, others and your own spirit, mind and body with the way you walk, talk, think, see, hear and act in the world.
Shabbat Shalom (A Hebrew greeting that means “May you have a peaceful Sabbath”) to honoring your identity in Christ!