In my last Address, I wrote about my feeling called to remain unmarried in order that I might be more wholly devoted to the Lord, and traced back to 1 Corinthians 7 as my point of origin. Thing is, 1 Corinthians 7 is not just about remaining unmarried- Paul has plenty to say in this chapter about being married as well. But honestly, I don't think this chapter is actually about being married or being single. I think what Paul is writing about here, and what the Word is pointing to (even demanding) in this chapter is
obedience.
For sake of time and space, I will attempt to lay out what I see to be Paul's basic argument, and how we eventually get to obedience. You will need to pick up a Bible for yourself in order to be convinced, as I promise I will leave out much...
In Paul's words to those who are married, he writes something like:
live as though you were not married
In order to figure out what he means by "live as though you were not married," and why he gives such strange advice to married people, we go to Paul's words to those who are not married, where he writes something like:
remain unmarried so as to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord
And so, if you do that math, you realize that Paul is actually saying the same thing to all believers, whether or not we are married:
live as you are called and secure your undivided devotion to the Lord
The point, friends, is not whether or not we are to marry. It is that we love Jesus undistractedly and obey His commands unswervingly. If He has intended for you to be married as you do- so be it. As Paul seems to say, it will be harder to singly focus on the service of the Lord as a married person- and so I ask for increased grace to those of you who are wed. If He has purposed for you to do so without being married- so be it. Paul implies that is it difficult to remain single and walk in holiness, and so I ask for increased grace for those of you who are unwed.
I've heard it said that this argument is not really valid because Paul wrote what he did according to his belief that Jesus was returning to the earth soon, even in his own lifetime. However, Paul's argument is based on something much more than timing, and therefore we don't get to throw it out simply because it didn't happen. Jesus is coming back- the timing is His to know and mine to imminently anticipate, just as it was Paul's. This world is fading faster and faster into eternity, and when it finally arrives, I certainly want to be revealed as one chosen to spend it with Him. Let's depend on the Spirit to live and love like we are those ones, and may it be unto the Name and the ever-deserving glory of Jesus Christ.
