God has promised special blessings in the keeping of the Day, and painful consequences for neglecting it. By this day, His people confess their faith and can be light in a world that dwells in darkness. Jesus Christ is risen; He is Lord of every day, but declares His salvation with one day of the week, every week.

Actually, God has many gifts for you, because He is the most loving Father, but He has one that you may not be aware of.

Some of His gifts are evident and immediately sweet to the taste, like something we eat and enjoy. Some of His gifts leave us confused, like a puzzle, we try to figure out how they are to be used to our benefit and even why He gave them. These gifts remind us of some bitter medicine we sometimes take that we don’t like, but know it has healthy qualities for us. Other gifts are mysterious in another way, in that they are present but hidden, like something valuable in the attic that needs the dust blown off, or in the garage, back behind things, so that we don’t see it but it’s there all the time. Recently, while we were out of town, our adult daughter asked permission and went on a “treasure hunt” in our garage, and found many valuable family items and even things of significant monetary value. It is the third kind, present and valuable yet seemingly hidden to many Christians, about which I want to tell you. And I hope you will discover it and enjoy all the benefits that God has designed for you to receive from it.

The gift allows you special time to be with other Christians to offer special worship to your Father.

It gives you a day off from your work and your mind being preoccupied with the cares of your week, and allows you the freedom to spend time with the Lord and friends, which may take the form of reading the scriptures, or some beneficial work, or prayer, or enjoying a meal with others, or taking a walk down the street thinking about life and what’s important, and whatever else you want to think about. It could be time to do those good things you didn’t have time to read or do or think about on Tuesday or Thursday.

It gives you a day to show special love to others that you have wanted to, but somehow never had time to do during your week; a phone call or text of encouragement to someone going through a rough time; baking cookies for someone who is lonely and might enjoy a visit from you and conversation over a cup of tea; or someone who needs a special favor done, a widow who needs her yard raked or a plumbing repair. Maybe a friend who needs a personal note sent by U. S. mail; people still send those, you know? The best example of putting this day to good use this way is Jesus, and you can read all about how He did it.

It gives you an opportunity to declare to God your confidence in Him, in His love and provision for you: “I trust you to take care of me and all my needs. By faith I leave my work alone today as a testimony that you are sufficient to take care of me as I keep your commandment.”

It gives you a day as a silent witness to the world that you are a member of a unique group of people who are dedicated to the Lord; that you have purposely set aside a whole day as special and not to be treated like any other day; and you say to the world, “As a Christian, I have higher values and goals and purposes in life, and I am not going to participate in the rat race that everyone else is, around me. My God loves me and takes care of me, and this is who I am and where I live.”

It gives you an opportunity to declare the important truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You see, when someone asks you why you treat the day as you do, you can explain that God’s people have always had a special day of the week; that, among many other things, marked them out as being God’s people; and when Jesus was raised from the dead, the day changed, it’s message took on greater meaning, and now it is actually called by His name, as it was in the time of the early Christians; it is the “Lord’s Day.” Hopefully, they will be willing to hear more about Christ, and they will see the benefits of the day that you enjoy in the worship, peace, good things you do for others, joy, and quiet happiness that you receive from God’s good gift.

The early Christians called this the Lord’s Day; some today call it the Christian Sabbath. Christians usually confess that they believe in the Ten Commandments, but it is one of those commandments that has been largely forgotten. Remembering it is not only an obligation, but a gift from God to benefit His people individually and collectively. God has promised special blessings in the keeping of the Day, and painful consequences for neglecting it. By this day, His people confess their faith and can be light in a world that dwells in darkness. Jesus Christ is risen; He is Lord of every day, but declares His salvation with one day of the week, every week. Maybe the world won’t listen; but if we are His people, we should, and we should love Him and His day and be thankful for His gift.

K.W. “Pete” Hurst is a retired minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He is an Associate Broker in real estate living in Yorktown, Virginia. He blogs at www.GodsFool.com where this article first appeared.