God's Sabbath

390

E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

AWorking Partnership

God is our Supplier and wants us to co-work with Him. An ex ample of such a working partnership is provided in the production of a loaf of bread. God could have chosen to deliver baked bread to us every day, but instead, He made land available to be cleared and plowed, seed to be sown, and grain to be harvested, win nowed, and ground, ready to be mixed into dough and baked. This gives the human agent a great deal to do, but it was never God’s intention that it be done otherwise than in partnership with Him. Unless God does His part, our efforts will produce nothing. We are able to plow our fields and sow our seed only because the life of God is in us and His power sustains us to do so. The seed sown must have life in it—another factor which only God can provide. Once it is sown, the seed needs light, water and air at the right time and in the required quantity in order to germinate and grow successfully. The process of harvesting, milling and baking is again accomplished by the power of God working through the human agent.

The problem is that God, in His great humility, does His work so quietly and unobtrusively that, in this sin-cursed earth, His contribution can be seen only with the eye of faith. On the other