Stay where you were when God called your name. Were you a slave? Slavery is no roadblock to obeying and believing. I don’t mean you’re stuck and can’t leave. If you have a chance at freedom, go ahead and take it. I’m simply trying to point out that under your new Master you’re going to experience a marvelous freedom you would never have dreamed of. On the other hand, if you were free when Christ called you, you’ll experience a delightful “enslavement to God” you would never have dreamed of.
All
of you, slave and free both, were once held hostage in a sinful society. Then a
huge sum was paid out for your ransom. So please don’t, out of old habit, slip
back into being or doing what everyone else tells you. Friends, stay where you
were called to be. God is there. Hold the high ground with him at your side.
The
Master did not give explicit direction regarding virgins, but as one much
experienced in the mercy of the Master and loyal to him all the way, you can
trust my counsel. Because of the current pressures on us from all sides, I
think it would probably be best to stay just as you are. Are you married? Stay
married. Are you unmarried? Don’t get married. But there’s certainly no sin in
getting married, whether you’re a virgin or not. All I am saying is that when
you marry, you take on additional stress in an already stressful time, and I
want to spare you if possible. - The Message -
My
experience tells me many believing spouses say “I want them gone…I don’t want them back”. Paul
says “And
don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else”.
Oops…As Bob Dylan says..."You've got to serve somebody".
But,
it’s not just marriage. Paul’s admonition applies to every situation in life. Stay where you were
when God called your name. Were you a slave? Slavery is no roadblock to obeying
and believing. I don’t mean you’re stuck and can’t leave. If you have a chance
at freedom, go ahead and take it. I’m simply trying to point out that under
your new Master you’re going to experience a marvelous freedom you would never
have dreamed of.
On the other hand, if you were free when Christ called you,
you’ll experience a delightful “enslavement to God” you would never have
dreamed of.
Of course, the “Barbarians
at the gate” use (and have used) this text to proclaim Christianity
condones things as ugly as slavery. Some of these barbarians even dwell (and
have dwelt) within our own congregations. Shame on us! We should recognize poor
exegesis when we see it. This text is no more about slavery than it is about the
Super Bowl. The call of Christ calls us to freedom from sin and its
consequences, not freedom from our lot in life. Freedom in Christ has nothing
to do with financial, social, cultural or relational freedom…or Bronco
victories.
Except that all other freedoms pale in comparison to freedom
in Christ…
If we truly understand this we will spend a great deal more
time being thankful for our future than we spend complaining about our present. A
modification of the old saying holds true: “Rearranging
our circumstances in life is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic”.
It will do nothing to alter the final
outcome.The sooner we understand this, the sooner we will find contentment. But, it doesn’t mean we should settle. Paul says “when we have the opportunity to improve our lot in life we should take it”. I suggest this is also true for our opportunity to improve the lot of others. We must, however, be careful that we don’t lose sight of what’s truly important to God.
So here’s the question.
What motivates our daily lives…gratitude toward God or bitterness toward
our circumstances?
Live
boldly out there today… 
No comments:
Post a Comment