Saturday evening: The shoes were neatly polished, the potatoes were peeled, and the Sunday dinner was practically prepared. Only the absolutely necessary tasks were left to be done the following day.

Such was the way of life a half century ago. Parents reminded their children, "Tomorrow is the Lord's Day. It is a day of rest. God has given us six days in which to work and play, but Sunday is His day. We are to do only things that will honor and glorify Him."

How different it is today! Sundays are hardly recognizable. People use them for sleeping in, vacationing, eating out, watching television, and even shopping. And some of these people are Christians!

"Oh, but we've come a long way." people say. "Life is different today, more complex - we can't abide by the dos and don'ts our forbears had."

No Change In God. It is true that times have changed. But God hasn't changed; his rules are still the same. We have come a long way, but I wonder if we've been traveling in the right direction.

Sometimes we may try to justify our actions by comparing them to the actions of others. This can make us feel a bit more comfortable. But the comparison we make should really be between what we do and the commands of a Holy God. God has told us, "Keep the Sabbath day holy." Is he pleased with how we observe Sunday?

God has been so good to us! He has given us six days to engage in work and pleasure. All he asks is that we set His day aside for Him. Is that asking too much of us?

If our relationship with the Lord is sincere, we will want to serve Him in a positive way. We will hesitate to do that which would offend Him or be a stumbling block to others.

Search Our Hearts. Perhaps we would do well to search our hearts about our attitude toward the Sabbath, asking ourselves a few questions: Does the Lord Jesus really have first place in my life, or do the things of the world have control? Do I seek to do God's will rather than my own? Do I love meeting with God's family in worship, or do I go because it is expected of me? Do I plan my vacation so that I don't use the Lord's Day for my own advantage?

What does the Lord think of my business dealings? Is he pleased with them? Do I really want to desecrate the Lord's Day for my financial gain?

There are other questions that help us measure how we keep the Sabbath and how we honor God: Is this deed done for God's glory? Am I helping someone by doing this? Does this action help me to grow spiritually? By observing my actions, would folks be drawn closer to the Lord?

We do not need a long list of dos and don'ts. What we need is a true commitment to the Lord. God must have first place in our lives. If He does, we will not want to rob Him of his special day. If we seek to serve God totally, he will receive all the glory, and our lives will be blessed.

God will hold us accountable for what we do. We may fool others, but we cannot fool God. He knows our hearts, our thoughts, and our motives. Are we being faithful to Him?

Temptations are all around us, but "greater is He who is in us, than He who is in the world" (see 1 John 4:4). Let us strive to be the kind of examples God would have us be. Then our Sundays will once again be special - set apart, living in a way that will honor and glorify God. When we observe the Sabbath rightly, we will draw others to our previous Lord and Savior. And the prayer in our hearts as any time could be, "Even so, come Lord Jesus."