Why we close early on Fridays and are closed on Saturdays

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Nature's Pantry has observed the seventh day sabbath (imperfectly) since its founding in 1986. 

In the book of Exodus, God says: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 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." 

This is why we are closed on Saturday (seventh day of the week). 

The Bible defines the sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. This is why we close earlier on Friday in winter when sundown is earlier. 

Our friends remind us that because of Jesus we are not under the law anymore but under grace. We agree! We also agree with the idea that being under grace does not mean we should go on sinning (Rom 5 & 6).  In the book of Romans, Paul asks: "Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” (Rom 6:1). 

Yes, we are under grace and praise God for that! Nevertheless, we don't believe because of God’s grace we should go on lying, stealing, coveting, murdering, worshipping idols and other gods, forgetting the sabbath or forgetting any of the ten commandments. Our loving heavenly Father has given us commandments, not to limit or harm us, but rather that in following them we may be blessed (Deut. 28 , Acts 5:32, James 1:25). We don’t want to be hearers of the word only, but also doers of the word (Matt 7:24, James 1:22).

We want to strive to obey God (albeit, imperfectly); not to earn grace, but because of grace. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15). Not: keep the commandments to earn His love; but rather: keep the commandments in loving response to Him. It is our desire to respond to God’s grace in loving obedience.

We believe taking the seventh day off to rest each week is one of God's provisions for us. We find ourselves and our team to be happier and healthier by observing the sabbath. Maybe He knew we'd tend to overdo it, striving to get it all done seven days per week. 

Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27) So, we believe He made it for us to rest and recharge, not as a burden or hardship. It's a day to connect with God and with one another, and it's a symbol of our trust in His mercy and provision. 

Similar to paying tithe and trusting God with our money, the sabbath rest is trusting God with our time. We’ve found in trusting God in these ways that he makes more of the money and time we have left than what we could do with 100% of it. 

Being closed on Saturday can certainly seem like a bad idea from a business perspective. Nevertheless, we love God and want to trust and obey Him in this way. We believe there are more important things in life than money, and we find God provides for our needs.

Thank you for your patience with us and many years of loving support. We pray that God bless you and yours!