https://odb.org/2025/08/12/distance-til-empty
Exodus 20:8–11 (NIV): 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it, you shall not do any work, neither you nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days, the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
It is interesting to use the fuel gauge’s distance to empty to illustrate the need for us to observe the Sabbath as God also rested on the 7th day after creating the world and everything in it 6 days prior. For us Christians, the Sabbath is a day of rest and worship, but not in the religious sense like the Jews. The distance to empty means it’s a hard stop, although modern cars still have reserved fuel before it really goes empty. It is nevertheless not advisable to go really empty as it could damage our car’s fuel pump.
I have dealt with religious Jews before (religious as opposed to secular, but not the orthodox), and they make it a point to fly back to Israel on Thursday night so they are in Israel on Friday evening to observe the Sabbath (pronounced as Shabath). For them, it is total abstinence from work, and time would be spent with family to read the Scriptures and worship Yahweh. I understand they don’t even cook on that day, with food prepared in advance the day before.
As believers in Christ, we should have our own Sabbath on a Sunday for us to attend church and serve God, to worship Him and listen to His Word preached. To just immerse ourselves in His Holy presence as we celebrate His goodness in our lives and express our gratefulness for His calling and purpose for us here on earth as well as His salvation for eternal life. We should take a break from work on a Sunday and just chill (unless absolutely necessary, like when we are chasing or closing a deal). Saturdays are meant to catch up on housework and gardening. But on Sundays, we should just rest in His presence.
Having said that, I remember watching the 1997 movie Gatacca, starring Ethan Hawk, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. It is a sci-fi world when there are two distinct classes of humans, the genetically perfect (modified) and the imperfect (natural). All the posh jobs were reserved for the perfect, but our protagonist (an imperfect) wanted to be an astronaut, which was way beyond his wildest imagination. So he worked very, very hard despite his not qualifying. One of the most memorable scenes from the movie was when he challenged his brother (a perfect) to a swim into the open sea. He defeated his brother, proving that the human spirit can triumph over his imperfect physical body. In fact, he had to bring his brother back to shore. How was that possible? He stretched himself to the utmost limit by not reserving anything for the swim back to shore. By not limiting himself, he was able to go much farther than what he thought his body could go!
That is how humanity progresses – by testing the limits of our humanity. But as people of the faith, we have the Holy Spirit in us and Christ and God with us. If we push ourselves beyond our own limits beyond our comfort zones, God will bring us deeper into Him, far deeper than what we could imagine, into the depths of the mysteries of His Kingdom. Like Paul and John, perhaps we could one day see and experience things that a human could not utter! In 2 Corinthians 12:4, Paul discussed the vision where he was caught up to “the third heaven” and heard “inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.”
Have a good week ahead, everyone! Have our own Sabbath, but don’t allow our own human limitations to limit God’s work in our spiritual lives! There is much more in this world that the eyes can see!
P/S: My apologies for not posting yesterday as I had to wake up at 5.30 am and travel back to the city at 6.00 am.
Ronnie's Thoughts 