22/3/11 Joshua 12-14; 1 Corinthian 7
S: 1 Corinthians 7:7-9, 28, 32-34 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.... But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.... I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband.
O: The Corinthian church had a lot of problems, and one of them was about marriage, so Paul addressed it here.
A: I was just listening to the Boundless Podcast #163 as I drove to work today and here was the issue in today’s reading!
I realize that several of my LifeJournal entries in the past have been about marriage life and children, while every single one of you in this email list are single! And I know from past conversation that some of you struggle with that.
Juliane & I also married late – in our late 30s. I remember when my sister, who is 9 years younger than me, got married when I was in my mid-30s. One insensitive “friend” or relative after another came up to me and said, “So, when is YOUR turn?” It didn’t help that I was still jet-lagged, but I soon felt like PUNCHING the face of the next INSENSITIVE @^*&@!# who asked that question. “What’s wrong with you people? Are you just insensitive idiots who married at 22 and cannot identify or are you being deliberately CRUEL?”
So now the shoe’s on the other foot – I have to be the one to be sensitive to the plight of singles. If you are struggling with your singleness, you might want to give that podcast I linked to above a listen.
P: Father, help me to be sensitive to the needs of my single friends and to be an encouragement to them. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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