The Forth Commandment: Part 9
You do not own this day to act on it as you like. It is the Lord’s Day. You should give it to Him; learn verses from the Holy Bible, learn hymns, sing for the Lord and praise Him, pray, serve the Lord, visit His children orcontemplate on the Holy Books.
Do not spend it in making errands, shopping, or cleaning your house. Let all the day be for the Lord. If you cannot give all the day to the Lord, in case you are not on holiday in your work, give what you can out of it to the Lord and compensate the rest on another day.
One day a rich man was returning home in his car after shopping, and he was stopped suddenly by a godly man crying to him, "Take care, you man, see what you are treading on". He stopped quickly thinking he ran over a child, but he found nothing. He asked that godly man who answered him, "You are treading on the Lord’s day. You tread on the Fourth Commandment".
See what St. John the Beloved said in the Revelation, "I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day" (Rev.1:10). What a beautiful verse to contemplate on and to carry out in your life. Do the works that make you grow spiritually; for as your body is in need of rest, your spirit also needs to rest in the Lord.
Note: Now we have come to the end of our lessons about the First and Second commandments relating to the Lord’s worship, as well as the Third Commandment relating to the Lord’s name and the Fourth commandment relating to the Lord’s Day.
Next week, we will contemplate on the commandments relating to our relations with the others. The First will be "Honor your mother and your father."
Source: H.H. Pope Shenouda III, 1997.Contemplations on the Ten Commandments: The fourth Commandment, Volume I.