1 Corinthians 7 Devotional

Content Where God Has Called

“Regardless, each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is what I prescribe in all the churches.”1 Corinthians 7:17 (BSB)

Paul answers the Corinthians' questions about marriage. Husbands and wives belong to each other and should not hold back from one another except briefly, by agreement, for prayer (7:3-5). Married believers should not separate, and a believer whose unbelieving spouse is willing to stay should not leave (7:10-13). Singleness, too, is a gift from God, one Paul himself has, and it frees a person for undivided devotion to the Lord (7:7-8, 32-35). Yet marrying is no sin (7:28).

A steady thread runs through the chapter: each one should live the life the Lord has assigned, in the situation where God called them (7:17, 20, 24). Married or single, slave or free, circumcised or not, the deepest fact about a believer is that Christ has paid for them and they belong to him (7:22-23). Paul says this world in its present form is passing away (7:31). Neither marriage nor singleness is where life is ultimately found. Whatever your situation, you can serve the Lord right where he has placed you.

To think about: Are you waiting for a different situation before you serve the Lord wholeheartedly, and what could devotion to him look like where you are now?