Free to belong
1 Corinthians 7:17-24
17 Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. 18 For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now. 19 For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.
20 Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you. 21 Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. 22 And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. 23 God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world. 24 Each of you, dear brothers and sisters, should remain as you were when God first called you.
“Slave” and “freedom” are explosive words today, especially in the US. But Paul’s world was very different. In first-century Corinth, almost everybody belonged to someone – as a member of a community, a family or maybe you belonged to your master as their servant, as a slave. Some masters treated their slaves as a disposable commodity, but smart masters took care of their slaves even when things were tough. Many slaves were paid an allowance that they could save up to buy their freedom. The lowest of the low in Corinthian society were the poor who didn’t belong to anyone. When things were tough, they didn’t eat.
When we talk about “freedom” we often think of freedom from … something … everything and everyone. But in Paul’s world (and probably ours too), belonging to no one is the worst. Paul is thinking much more constructively about freedom for … belonging to Jesus, as part of his family … even if you still belong to someone else.
He called me and set me free to belong to him. And I can live as though I belong to him right away. I shouldn’t wait for my circumstances to change – to get out of that responsibility or finish that course … or whatever. I can and should serve him where I am. It’s great if my circumstances can improve in the future, but I’m free to serve Jesus right now.
Jesus, I love that I belong to you. Thank you for paying an enormous price – your life – to buy my freedom to belong to you. I want to serve you today. What are you doing in my world today? I want to serve you as part of whatever you’re doing.
Written by David Cornell