The Los Angeles fires right now are horrendous. We have seen people fleeing for their lives literally seconds before their homes were engulfed in flames. The next news bulletin shows a school in Gaza bombed and the children had nowhere to run. I could continue throughout the world. With that picture those people at the centre of the trauma are not making the usual decisions of their life before the events happened.
The Apostle Paul in his teaching on marriage, divorce, remarriage and singleness says we should remain as we are. Why? Here are the reasons:-
“Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is… 29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 32 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. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7 v 28, 29, 32, 35)
Paul was not against marriage. He was being pastoral.
We know that at that time the Church was being persecuted; we know there were battles in the Roman leadership (Claudius was poisoned by his wife and Nero replaced him) and this impacted the ordinary people; in AD 70 Jerusalem was destroyed; Josephus writes of famine so horrendous that cannibalism was taking place; life was bad. Paul could have also been thinking Christ was returning and in those evil days you could see why.
Context is everything.
Moving from one place to another, escaping the fires of LA, the bombs of Gaza, the persecution and evil world of the first century was not conducive for getting married and then perhaps providing for young children.
Paul says remain as you are.
We need to be careful when we are going through tough times that our decisions take into consideration the context we are in.
Don’t let those decisions increase the burden of your day.
Don’t take on extra responsibilities.
Facing a looming exile into Babylon Jeremiah prays, “it is not for man to direct his steps,” (10 v23). Are you making a decision today? You may be facing insurmountable challenges. His prayer encourages us to think on God and trust Him to make the way clear for us to overcome these challenges.
Thomas Merton, priest and theologian, wrote what became known as “the Merton Prayer”.
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Perhaps today certain decisions don’t need to be made. Except the decision to please the Lord in the crisis you are in.
Missions Paul 