In today’s reading Paul takes us
through the topics of sex, marriage, divorce, immorality, status, circumcision,
slavery and possession. Where to start?
This passage is Paul under the
guidance of God, speaking into specific life situations. It can be easy to read
Paul as a very hard line definitive answer on many hot topics of the day;
instead Paul himself offers much of what he writes from experience. This
doesn’t null and void the passage but adds the weight that he himself is living
out what he offers.
The exciting and challenging
thread that Paul weaves amongst all of his talk of sex, marriage, circumcision
and status is one of being free to follow Christ. He talks into specifics to
help us align our lives and our priorities. He tells us in verse 17 that each
person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has put them
in, instead of debating differences in lifestyle he seems more interested in
how we live out our faith in the situation we are in. It can be so easy to question
why our life looks a certain way, choices may have played out differently from
how we expected. Perhaps other people’s choices have had a knock on for our
lives. The challenge Paul lays down is to not spend all our time and energy,
worrying, challenging, fighting and trying to change our life, but instead to
find ways to honour, worship and follow Jesus in the life we lead. God is there
to share in our joys and pain of life and will always be so.
Perhaps today we could look for
where we see God at work in and around our daily routine and join him in it. Honouring, worshipping and
living out our faith in the little things.
(lay member of staff)