Theo’s Day of Rest

Bible Reading: Exodus 20:8-11

Theo wanted to make the greatest Lego kingdom ever. After several days of building, his masterpiece stretched into almost every room. His eyelids were heavy, but he wasn’t done.

“You’d better take a break,” Dad said as they sat down for lunch on Sunday.

Theo held in a yawn. “No time. I have work to do.”

At Sunday school that morning, Theo’s teacher had talked about how God was always working in their lives. God didn’t give up on Theo, even though Theo made lots of mistakes. God even sent Jesus to die, taking Theo’s punishment for his sins so he could live with Jesus forever. If Jesus had done all that for him, and if God was always working in Theo’s life, Theo figured he should work hard too—and today that meant building the greatest Lego kingdom ever.

Dad wiped the pasta sauce off Theo’s little sister, Stella, then let her down from her high chair. “Even the best builders need a day of rest,” he said.

“I’ll stop when I’m done.” Theo got up and walked into the playroom. He turned to see Stella crawling toward his tallest tower. “Stella…no!”

Stella tumbled into the Legos. The tower fell. Theo burst into tears. Stella’s lip trembled, and she started crying too.

Dad ran in. “What’s going on?”

“Stella ruined my tower!”

Dad pulled them both onto his lap. “Ready for a break now?”

Theo rested his head against Dad’s shoulder, still crying. “No! I can’t give up on my Legos!”

“You know, Theo, when God created the world, that was the biggest construction project ever,” Dad said. “God wouldn’t have needed to take a break, but He did. After six days of work, He rested. And He tells us to rest too.”

“What about Jesus?” Theo wiped his tears. “He couldn’t have had time to rest when He was busy saving the world.”

“Actually, Jesus took breaks during His ministry. He took time to be alone and to pray.”

“But…I wouldn’t have gotten upset if Stella didn’t knock down my tower!” Theo said.

“Or maybe you got upset because you were tired,” Dad said.

Theo frowned. Maybe Dad was right. Maybe one day of rest wouldn’t hurt. After all, Jesus stopped to rest, and He saved the world.

-Becca Wierwille

How About You?

Have you ever waited so long to take a break that you felt tired or frustrated? How did that affect the way you treated those around you? Sometimes we don’t want to take a break. But God created the Sabbath day as a gift for us. If God took time to rest, we can too! We can rest because Jesus has already done the work of saving us. When we stop to rest and remember Jesus, it helps us grow to be more like Him.

Today’s Key Verse: Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (NKJV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Take time to rest