“These [marrying] people,” he said, “will they suffer anguish in the flesh, and I would have wanted to forgive you?(1 Corinthians 7:28). In fact, use the same expression for “Anguish in the Flesh. “in other passages to describe poverty (2 Corinthians 8:2), tribulation (1 Thessalonians 1:6) and even the cross (Colossians 1:24). This does not mean that marriage is not filled with wonderful joy. All of Paul’s deepest joys came through sacrifice and suffering (Romans 5:3-5). Like all that is difficult, when done for Christ, marriage strengthens us to persevere in faith, refines and purifies our character, promotes the hope we have in our Redeemer, and reminds us of God’s torrent. god’s love that has been poured out into hearts and lives.
Then Paulo said, “What I really want is for you to be carefree. He who is not married deals with the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man takes care of the things of the world, how to please. “your wife, and is she divided? (1 Corinthians 7. 32-34).
- Concern about marriage is neither bad nor unnecessary.
- In fact.
- Concern is the key to a healthy marriage that emphasizes Jesus.
- If a husband doesn’t care about his wife.
- Or if a wife doesn’t care about his husband.
- Marriage can survive.
- But he can’t be healthy.
- Do we need to feel constantly responsible for each other.
- To listen to the needs of others?spend time every day (and happily) together.
Distractions are not (necessarily) painful, but they are real. Paul expresses simple calculations for married people: some of the time, energy, and attention you devote to your spouse’s care cannot be devoted to Jesus or others. You will find no creative and meaningful ways to seek Christ and serve together. You’ll find it and you have to.
This means that you will have to spend a lot of time focusing on your spouse’s needs and not on your personal devotion to the Lord or the use of your gifts to achieve the Great Commission. In marriage, you will see and experience the gospel in one unprecedented way, and you will likely have fewer opportunities to pray, read, and serve than when you were single. Is it a good exchange? I like being married, but it’s actually an exchange.
Paul believed so much in the potential of celibacy that he encouraged widows to remain single. A little later she said, “The wife is connected while her husband lives; However, if her husband dies, she is free to marry whoever she wants, but only in the Lord. But will you be happier if you become a widow?(1 Corinthians 7: 39-40) Think about it for a moment: a 30-, 40-, or 50-year-old woman is left alone, perhaps with children, without a husband to protect her. Paul says that even for a woman like that, it may be better not to get married.
Paul was only able to make this statement because of the way he focused on life to come and the need to adapt the present life to it. What was your conclusion? And so, he who marries his virgin daughter does well; Who improves the house?(1 Corinthians 7. 38). Marriage is very good. Celibacy can be even better. Are your opinions about Jesus, heaven, and hell big enough to believe that?
Many will only strive to survive celibacy and wait to seriously consider Jesus and his mission later, when things are settled in life. Few of us, the brave, will develop habits of people who have not yet married, such as knowing him deeply and sharing it unhindered. , probably way beyond what we could do after the wedding day. Does celibacy have the potential to be a garden?Or a gymnasium, a kitchen or a school, for devotion to Jesus without distractions, as at any other time in our lives. we must learn a few things about this life. Those who live for the glory of God, who now live for the life to come, will feel a persistent and even painful urgency.
The work we have to do, in our hearts and for the lost, is the most important thing that has been done in history, and there is not much time left. Joo writes: “Now the world passes, as does his lust; But whoever does God’s will remains forever?(1 John 2. 17). Unlike you and heaven, the Earth passes and passes relatively quickly. In the light of eternity, everything that seems so firm, real and fun will happen. before I met you. This world, its promises, experiences and priorities?are not the best investment of our energy and our concern
Life is short. You and everyone around you will live, on average, a little over 70 years, this period will seem less than a bathroom break, compared to the eternity that awaits us, everyone in the world teaches you to extend every moment for the maximum, to absorb every drop of your time here on Earth. But you’re not made for that and you won’t be there for long.
We have to stop believing in the lie that all we have here is all we have and start thinking about everything we have here as something to invest in what’s to come, if the whole world happened today, would we like what’s left?We’re developing these spiritual muscles? Now, as we say with all that we have and do today, that Jesus is our greatest treasure. Life is short and everything we have and see here happens. Anything but Jesus.
Editor’s Note: This is an adapted excerpt from Marshall Segal’s new book, “Not Yet Married: The Pursuit of Joy in Celibacy and Encounters?”[Not yet married: The pursuit of joy in Solteirice and dating] (Crossway, 2017), published here in partnership with Crossway.
By: Marshall Segal. © The Gospel Coalition. Website: thegospelcoalition. org. Translated with permission. Source: Marriage is a very good celibacy even better
Original: The wedding is fine, the bachelor is even better. © faithful of the department. Website: MinisterioFiel. com. br. All rights reserved. Translation: Camila Rebeca Teixeira. Crítica: Renata M Gandolfo.