The text this morning is from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, the seventh chapter:
This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 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 this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
What a strange word from the Lord in Paul’s writing this morning, that we should treat our wives and our husbands as if we have none. And why? Because the appointed time has grown very short. Very strange. I imagine that some people might hear this and think that they have some kind of out. And then I think there are others who hear this and wonder what’s going on. I’d encourage you to be the latter.
Couple of things: firstly, Paul very obviously expected that Jesus Christ would return to this earth very soon for Judgment Day. Christ had ascended into heaven, leaving, bodily, His disciples until He would return again. Paul expected this to happen soon. In fact, we should all live life hoping and praying that Christ would return as soon as possible, even today. We should guard our tongues and serve with our hands and go with our feet. When our Lord returns, we should be caught doing what our Lord expects us to be doing; it’s what Christians do. And that’s good.
Secondly, and relatedly, we serve our neighbor in all things because we are servants of the Gospel, slaves of Christ. Everything we do is in service to the Gospel. We never do it for ourselves, but we do it because God asked us to, told us to. It never really is for our benefit, but always to benefit someone else. It’s been said that God doesn’t need your good works; your neighbor needs them. This is true. The Scriptures make it plain that faith without works is dead, and that, if you have faith, you will have works. They follow. These works are not huge major sacrifices; they’re the small and mundane, everyday things that we do: changing diapers, holding a door, praying for those we love, sending a note. Our works seem like nothing, but they’re what we give to our neighbor when they need it. We do these things because we are Christ’s and we respect that these things are what He would do if He were in our place.
So, when Paul is writing about husbands and wives, you can assume many of the works that are being done between them: mutual respect, submission, love, physical affection, helping with the kids, taking care of parents. If you are married, think of all the things that you end up doing to serve the other person. And you should be serving the other person; that’s what marriage is. You’d think that it’d be easier to get by being married. You have two people cleaning, two people cooking, two people caring, but, in reality, and in many good ways, marriage is much harder than being single, and that’s okay.
Marriage is difficult, anyone would tell you as soon as the first week after the wedding. It is. A man and a woman together, leaning on each other, needing each other, sinning against the other, marriage is hard. And when you’re wrapped up in your marriage, which you should be, you naturally have to make sacrifices. You can’t go out to the bar with your buddies every night. Sometimes, sometimes, you have to stay in and watch The Bachelorette. You can’t always watch Say Yes to the Dress, you sometimes have to watch a Bruce Willis flick. Marriage is about sacrifice and you can’t and won’t always get what you want when you want it; certain things, by necessity, have to fall by the wayside.
In the life of the early Church, single men and women devoted themselves to the service of the Church. They would serve as deacons and deaconesses, taking care of the sick, the widowed, the orphaned. They would feed the poor, they would rescue discarded babies from landfills. They would tell people about the faith and love of Jesus Christ. They would be His witnesses. They would draw people to the pastor of their church and they would lead them in life and instruction for all those who would newly convert. These were all important tasks. Day in and day out, these blessed men and women would serve the Lord by serving their neighbors around them. Without them, the Church would have certainly failed to become as dominant as it did in the first few centuries after Christ’s first coming.
When these men and women then would go and get married, they would, by necessity, have to give up much of their outside work for the church. Instead, they’d get busy having babies and bringing those babies to the waters of Baptism and instruct them in the faith of Christ. These are good works, too, and they certainly worked to save the eternal lives of those blessed children.
Yet, there were so many alive who had never heard the Word of God, the Good News of the salvation we have in Jesus Christ. What Paul is really saying is that the eternal life that is won by Jesus Christ for these folks who do not yet believe is so important, all other things almost should pass by the wayside. We should be so willing to give up all things to save one person, that we would even treat our wives or husbands as if they didn’t exist. At least for the moment.
I know that seems an incredible thing to claim, but that’s exactly what Paul says in the text. Paul just got through saying that he thought it might be better for people to stay as they are, single then single, married then married. There was so much persecution going around that it’s easier to take care of yourself than to leave a widow. He didn’t say it was a sin to marry, but that it’s easier not to. And even with that, the time of the world is running out. Get out there and win the souls for Jesus.
Now, Paul is not saying that we should forget always that we’re married, but that, even if we are married, always also be about the business of the Lord. We’ve talked a lot about marriage, but Paul also mentions mourning and rejoicing and buying and selling. He says that in all of these things, we are to live as if we don’t do them. If we mourn, no more mourning. If we rejoice, no more partying. If we buy, as if we own nothing. If we do business, as if we gain nothing. Everything in this world is passing away; a better time is coming. Don’t hold on to the things of this world, but look to the works of Christ.
And indeed, Christ is absolutely coming and He will cast away these things from us. I don’t know what my relationship with my wife will be in the new creation, but I know it will be even better than I have with her now, which is pretty darn amazing. But, if I hold on to her too tight in this world and put her on a pedestal and worship her in every way, I forget that my first service is to the Lord, and that service is that I may serve my wife. You get this?
I can’t make my wife my entire world, even though I am still called to love and serve her. I can’t make my kids my entire world, even though I am still called to change them, teach them, love them, raise them. The only thing that is capable of being my entire world is God Himself. Everything that He has given me in this life is an amazing blessing, but every relationship in this world, every bit of mourning, every bit of rejoicing, every material blessing, every business transaction, is going to pass away to something even greater. Everything, I should say, except for those who do not believe in Christ.
I must serve them, too. I serve them by my works, through whatever they may be. If I teach an unbeliever in my classes, then I am serving them. If I hold the door, I am serving them. If I provide a kind word, buy a product, whatever it is, I am serving my neighbor. But I also am called to give a reason for the joy that I have in Christ. I can do this in two ways: I can wait until they ask me about Jesus and then tell them, or I can tell them and hope they ask me more. Either way, I get to tell them that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came from heaven to take on my flesh, bear my sins and be my Savior, die for me, rise for me, ascend for me, and still takes care of me. And so do you. He lived for you, died for you, rose for you, ascended for you, and still takes care of you. And you need to know these things so well that you can share with anyone at any time.
So if your wife, husband, kids, mourning, rejoicing, buying, selling, or really anything that is part of this world gets in the way of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with others, then you need to take a serious look at how that’s working for you. You’re called to have an undivided devotion to the Lord. And that’s hard. Impossible, really.
Yet, here’s the good news: if you are continuing on in your good works, which, if you are a Christian, you always, always will have good works, then your devotion to the Lord is already undivided. Telling your kids about Jesus is devotion to the Lord. Loading the dishwasher is devotion to the Lord. Celebrating someone’s birthday with them is devotion to the Lord. Caring for a new widow is devotion to the Lord. Providing food and a home for your family is devotion to the Lord. Our Lord builds our good works and even the ability to tell others about Him into our service just as people. We are blessed by God in this way. And even through our marriage, our mourning, our rejoicing, our buying, and our selling, we are devoted to the Lord. Because He has worked faith in us, because He counts us and our works as righteous, we are devoted to the Lord.
Whatever you do, do it as to the Lord, for the Lord has placed your neighbor there for you to serve. And through that service, work to make sure that you spend eternity with that person. If you must, forsake whatever you need to bring them to the Gospel. Give fully of yourself, that’s your call. And in all things, trust, too, that the Lord is guiding you, that He’s providing for you, that He’s bringing to you all of His promises. And if you feel as if you’ve failed, if you feel like your devotion is split, trust the Lord, who forgives all of your sins in Christ, that He still counts all your works as righteous and pleasing in His sight, for He truly does. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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