On that day take some of the best fruit from your trees, take palm branches and the branches of leafy trees, and begin a religious festival to honour the LORD your God. Celebrate it for seven days. Leviticus 23:40-41a, GNT

 

Some time ago I received a broadcast messages on social media. I usually just glance at these things and delete them immediately, but this one caught my attention as something worthwhile. It read as follows: “Life is a song – sing it. Life is a game – play it. Life is a challenge – meet it. Life is a dream – realise it”. I do not know what the original source is, so I cannot credit anyone.

 

One can become so bogged down by a negative outlook on life that you stop enjoying life. You stop singing and playing and never try new things. Eventually, you may even lose your dreams. The same can happen with how you view your faith and religious activities. You may reach a point where you do not enjoy being a Christian at all, religious activities become nothing more than habits or rituals.

 

Although the book of Leviticus is mostly about religious laws and rituals and sacrifices, the whole of chapter 23 is devoted to festivals that honour God. These festivals were always meant to be sacred and no licentiousness was tolerated, but they were not meant to be joyless. A festival in honour of God should be filled with rejoicing and joy, as we can see from our verse for today.

 

In our religious life, we should be able to sing, play, work and dream. Psalm 37:4 tells us: “Seek your happiness in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desire.” Let today be a day to rejoice in the Lord.

 

Prayer: Dear God, we want to praise you and sing to you our songs of joy because a life in your presence is a life full of joy. Amen