BE FAITHFUL WHERE YOU ARE

-‘Tis a tedious passage to start, but hang in for some application, won’t you?

“Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you.  This is my rule for all the churches.  For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it.  And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now.  For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised.  The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.  

  Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you.  Are you a slave?  Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it.  And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord.  And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ.  God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.  Each of you, dear brothers and sisters, should remain as you were when God first called you.”  1 Corinthians 7.17-24

Apparently, Paul is addressing the Corinthian believers’ thought that they were to make radical, wholesale changes in their lives, now that they had found Christ.  ‘Be faithful where you are, Christian’ is the theme of this passage.  Sometimes folks think ‘I’ve gotta go serve somewhere—that is what God is expecting of me,’ and they completely miss the fact that God wants them to serve him well in whatever situation they find themselves. 

Yesterday, I had the good fortune of taking a young man to an appointment about five miles away.  My regret is that the appointment wasn’t 25 miles away so we could have kept talking!  He is fairly young in his faith, but boy, he has it going on.  Actually, our conversation serves as a great launching pad for us.  To him,

Being faithful where you are involves:

>reading the Word and reading is slow—ly, so as to understand, sometimes using a commentary, and then stopping to pray, and seek inspiration from God.

>going to where you can get solid Bible teaching alongside your peers.

>praying all the time, because that’s where the power is!

>hanging out with friends who have the same values, so you aren’t led into temptation

>avoiding distractions to your faith– for him, that is girls right now

I could not come up with a better list for being faithful, can you?

One thing stumbles him a little--how to talk to people about his newfound faith—sharing his feelings about Christ with friends, and even at home.  I think that stumbles a lot of us. 

The other day I was having a great discussion with a professional who is really desiring to make changes in his values, and put God on the chair of his life, instead of himself.  One thing holds him back—the naysayers—those who will jeer or scoff at ‘where the old Bob is’ or ‘how the old Bob did things’.  I advised him to come up with a line like ‘I am trying to make positive changes in my life’ to start.  In his business, that would be an acceptable explanation; soon, he can say ‘the changes have been prompted by my relationship with God.’  Remember—one of his fears is the naysayers—so the first thing to admit is that you desire to change, make new choices, then you can attribute the changes to God’s leading, as folks see the new you.

Being faithful where you are means doing all to the glory of God.

Being faithful where you are means being the same you wherever you find yourself.

Being faithful where you are means living in obedience to God and his Word.

And as for my young friend—well, he totally blessed me with his wholehearted devotion to the God who first devoted himself wholeheartedly to him.  

 Friends, let’s be faithful wherever we find ourselves . . .

Christine