Daily Reading // 1 Corinthians 7:10-16
READY // SILENCIO
Take a moment to quiet your mind and prepare your heart for your time with the Lord.
READ // LECTIO
Read the passage above up to three times aloud. Allow yourself to feel the words as they are read.
REFLECT // MEDITATIO
Now direct your focus on the words, phrases concepts or sentences that got your attention. What is God speaking to you today through His word?
1 Corinthians 7:14 (NKJV) For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.
I can’t imagine how difficult it must’ve been for the first century church. When the gospel first came to a new place, some there believed and some didn’t. At times this even impacted established marriages. The husband believed and the wife didn’t. The wife believed and the husband didn’t. These aren’t Christians who chose to date non-Christians.
This created a theological issue. Should I, as a Christian, stay married to a non-Christian? This was one of the questions the Corinthians had for Paul. Paul’s answer reveals something amazing: the power of a believing spouse.
A believing spouse has the ability to sanctify (make clean, or make holy) an unbelieving spouse and even their children.
This is different from salvation (see verse 16). That is still an individual and personal decision which remains questionable. But the very presence of a believing spouse in the home changes the atmosphere in a profitable way.
Even though my wife is a beautiful believer, I still want to be a sanctifying influence in our home. I want to move her closer to the Lord, not pull her away.
Paul is telling me I have more influence over my spouse, believer or not, than I realize. Which direction that influence leads is up to me.
I want to be a sanctifier.
RESPOND // ORATIO
Pray in response to what the Lord has spoken to you.
Jesus, Make me a sanctifier in my household, with my wife, my kids and my grandkids. I want to move them closer to You, not farther away from You. Amen.
Tomorrow’s reading -> 1 Corinthians 7:17-24