Why Sunday - not Monday - is the first day of the week
Ever since the resurrection of Jesus, Sunday has been regarded the first day of the week.
This is because it was on a Sunday Jesus secured the redemption of mankind…
,,, as he was “raised to life for our justification” (Rom.4:25).
In this, Christ established a new foundation for a new humanity…
Whereby
we no longer live and work independently of Him, but in union with Him.
This may seem a bit academic or abstract.
But it has life-transforming power.
From a ‘Monday-is-the-first day-of-the-week-perspective’…
… the focus is on what we are going to accomplish in the days before us in our own understanding and power.
But from a ‘Sunday-is-the-first-day-of-the-week-perspective’…
… the focus is on what God will do through us while we walk with Him as His forgiven and renewed image-bearers.
Big difference.
Someone who understood this difference well was William Wilberforce.
At the
age of 30, Wilberforce was a hedonistic member of English parliament with growing political ambitions.
But after his conversion to Christ, his life was transformed.
He came
to see Sundays as a day to protect… because it was a time to rest and be renewed in one’s redemption…
And he viewed his calling during the rest of the week as a way to extend God’s kingdom and its values in the place the Lord had put him.
This approach gave Wilberforce great security and energy–in the face of relentless opposition…
And God ultimately used his tireless efforts to end the slave trade in Britain.
The rhythm of Wilberforce’s life is something to model.
Rest and renewal in God’s love on the first
day the week; diligent service for His kingdom during the rest.
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