“…and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of his world is passing away.” 1 Corinthians 7:30-31
January 12, 2023
This present world and all its institutions have no permanence. The church in Corinth needed to be encouraged to go about their daily affairs by keeping their eyes on the ball of the return of Jesus Christ. The day-to-day affairs of life are to be lived in wisdom and assessed in the light of the gospel. Paul is giving a special message to those who are single to not let legitimate living carry them off course in the Christian life. Marriage is a good thing but it is not our ultimate purpose in life. Our griefs over losses have the silver lining of comfort when Christ returns. Finding happiness is not the ultimate meaning of life. Life is more than Amazon online shopping and Caribbean cruises. As hope-filled believers, we may use the legitimate things of this present age, but don’t let the love of this world make you a slave to it. “Time is of the essence…so don’t complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple…Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.” The Message
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“Lord, I pray that your kingdom will come. In the meantime, help me to keep the things of this life in perspective.”