Saturday 8 April, 2017

25 Now I want to say something about virgins. I have no direct command from the Lord. But I give my opinion. Because of the Lord’s mercy, I give it as one who can be trusted. 26 Times are hard for you right now. So I think it’s good for a man to stay as he is. 27 Are you engaged to a woman? Then don’t try to get out of it. Are you free from such a promise? Then don’t look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry someone, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries someone, she has not sinned. But those who marry someone will have many troubles in this life. I want to save you from this. 29 Brothers and sisters, what I mean is that the time is short. From now on, those who have a husband or wife should live as if they did not. 30 Those who mourn should live as if they did not. Those who are happy should live as if they were not. Those who buy something should live as if it were not theirs to keep. 31 Those who use the things of the world should not become all wrapped up in them. The world as it now exists is passing away.

I have 2 responses to this passage. 1. Don’t over spiritualise. Sometimes God just expects us to use the wisdom he has already given us to make decisions. Maybe the things we think are big – in the case of the Corinthians should they marry, not marry – maybe those things are not the big things for God. If you are struggling for breakthrough, maybe God has already given you the wisdom to deal with the problem. 2. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I am not saying the decision to marry is small. It’s just that there was a bigger picture at play – their “present crisis”.

It’s easy to get stuck on the things in our little world and miss the bigger picture of God’s world. A healthy God perspective of my world will alter the way I act in my small world. No one knows how long we have to impact the people around us. We need to take every opportunity to make God’s purpose a priority in our lives.

Father forgive me for the times I put myself before your Kingdom. Help me Lord to get your perspective and help me Father to keep things real. Use me Lord to bless those around me. May I bring Glory to your name today. In Jesus name. Amen

Written by Christine Knight