I Cor. 7:29-31 (NRSV)
Devotion
For Paul it must have been an extraordinary moment to suspend the regular order of things: the married to behave as though they were not, those rejoicing to cease, shoppers to behave as though they had no goods. Was he so distraught as to have lost all perspective or had he arrived at a point where he had a radically new perspective?
At the end of the first millennium some religious enthusiasts called “chiliastic” sold everything expecting the immediate coming of Christ. Was Paul one of those, or is he trying to convey the conviction that some things are so important, so paramount, that everything else can be neglected? Was Paul’s own personal suffering so overpowering that he was driven to extremes? We don’t know what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh" was but we do know that whatever he faced he still could write, “The greatest of these is love”. Of that he was certain and of that we can be too.
Prayer
Dear God, I struggle with doubts and fears that sometimes overwhelm me. Grant me the good sense that comes with trusting in your grace. Amen.