1 Corinthians 7:17-24
17 Nevertheless, each
person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned
to them, just as God has called them.
This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.
18 Was a man already
circumcised when he was called? He
should not become uncircumcised. Was a
man uncircumcised when he was called? He
should not be circumcised.
19 Circumcision is
nothing and uncircumcision is nothing.
Keeping God’s commands is what counts.
20 Each person should
remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
21 Were you a slave
when you were called? Don’t let it
trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so.
22 For the one who
was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person;
similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.
23 You were bought at
a price; do not become slaves of human beings.
24 Brothers and
sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation
they were in when God called them.
God had called the believers back in Apostle Paul’s time to
their different lots in life, either Jew or Gentile (circumcised or
uncircumcised), and either slave or free.
We are to follow God in our current situation. Think about how challenging it can be to obey
God under these circumstances:
-living in wartime or peacetime
-living in persecution or religious freedom
-born in a certain race/nationality vs another
-being single or married or widowed or divorced
-being employed or unemployed
-having money in the bank or burdened with debt
-enjoying good health or enduring long-term illness or
disability
-parenting young children or adjusting to the empty nest
-having children you didn't plan for or afford or struggling
with infertility
-born into powerful influential family or ordinary common
one
-born into large family or small family or orphaned
-educated and talented or not given opportunity to be
educated
There are many of life’s circumstances that are not mentioned
above, but every one presents its unique challenges. Rather than grumbling about our hardship, we
should “bloom where we are planted.” 1
Cor. 7:19 reminded me of another passage that Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians
4:11-12: “I have learned to be content in whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know
what it is to have plenty. I have
learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well
fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Paul was sharing with the church in Corinth
what he was learning from the Lord in his circumstances. The most important
part is this: “Keeping God’s commands is what counts.”
Father God, help me learn to be content where You have
placed me. Help me not to covet someone
else’s life, but to bear spiritual fruit where You have planted me to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
