Either-or or in?
Considering the present distress, I think it is better for a man to stay as he is. Have you got a wife? Then don’t try to get rid of her. Are you unmarried? Then don’t look for a wife. But if you do marry, you haven’t committed a sin; and if an unmarried woman marries, she hasn’t committed a sin. But I would rather spare you the everyday troubles that married people will have. (verses 26-28)
How often don’t we find that everyday hassles affect our walk with God.? Have we made excuses for not being involved in part of our church’s program because ‘we’re just too busy right now’?
Paul is not downplaying – either to the people in Corinth or to us – the importance of responsibilities to family. What he is saying is that we always need to be ready for Jesus’ return. To a community expecting this to happen soon, advice to keep the status quo seemed sensible. It was given to keep people focused on ‘the one thing needful’.
Often we have difficulty fitting God into our busy lives. Sometimes there’s no room for him even in our hassles. When this happens, we lose sight of an important truth about our relationship with God. God does not want to be first in our lives. Nor the centre of our lives. God is our life; everything is done in the context of him, his grace and his empowering Spirit. So busy-ness, hassles, families, husbands or wives are seen in this context. It isn’t a case of either this or that; rather, everything we do, say and feel will be seen as being ‘in Christ’.
Then we’ll always have time.
Father, you are my life, my strength, my shield. May I always remember this and live it. Amen.
by Bob Turnbull, in ‘New Strength for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1998)
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