Unmarried
Day 591, Wednesday, Mar. 25
1 Corinthians 7:25-40
Paul continues his discussion of life situations, today with a focus on single people. For the most part these verses repeat what we have already read, with the messages that people should continue in the situation they were in when called. As for marriage, Paul continues to express his preference for the single life, but without condemnation of those who marry. “I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you might live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.”
Today’s reading also includes a sense of urgency that we also see in some of Paul’s other letters. “What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short….For this world in its present form is passing away.”
Apparently Paul believed, at least in his early ministry, that the return of Christ would be very soon. This explains his preference for avoiding marriage—if the return of Jesus is imminent the church does not need to concern itself with passing the faith to future generations. It also explains his relative unconcern about slavery if he thinks all believers will be living in the new Kingdom of God within months or at most a few years.
This is one of the markers that scholars use to determine when Paul wrote each of his letters. As he lives longer and Christ has not yet returned, his letters show more of a belief that the return will not be immediate. He also shows more concern for church structure and maintaining the faith into the future.
The belief that the world was ending, or at least changing radically, has a modern parallel. In our own time of rapid cultural and technological change, and the related fear and uncertainty, most countries are seeing sharp declines in both marriage and birth rates.
Wednesday meditation
Psalms 103:1-5
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Prayer focus
Let us live as people prepared for your return today, while also building a world for tomorrow.
-Rev. Mark Fleming