Daily Reading // 1 Corinthians 7:25-40
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 7:25 (NKJV) Now concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy.
Paul here is speaking about a very practical issue and an important one: the married and the unmarried. He was probably answering a question the Corinthians posed to him.
How do you answer practical questions of our day? Through two means: commandment and judgment.
Where a commandment speaks we obey without hesitation. This question was not about murder or adultery or theft. Many questions in life fall outside of biblical commandment. What do we do then? We use judgment.
Paul gave his judgment and even supplied the reasoning he used to arrive at his judgment. In school, the math teacher requires you to ‘show your work’. Paul showed his work.
Since this issue is a result of judgment and not commandment, there is a different level of response. Paul uses his judgment and then leaves the reader free to his or her own judgment. Don’t follow this universally, but determine for yourself. Consider your own unique circumstances. Then judge for yourself and decide.
Paul is not handing down a decree here. Instead he is mentoring others. This is what it looks like to process an important, practical issue outside of a commandment of the Lord.
RESPOND // ORATIO
Pray in response to what the Lord has spoken to you.
Jesus, I want to please You and live for You more than anything. I need wisdom and judgment to do that. Continue to teach me. Amen.
Tomorrow’s reading -> 1 Corinthians 8:1-13