Paul
the apostle told the church members in Corinth, “the
time is short”,
and he exhorted, “it remains, that
both they that have wives be as though they had none”.
In chapter seven and verse thirty of First
Corinthians, Paul gave instructions to
the church members who, “weep,
rejoice and buy”
where we read:
And
they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice,
as
though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed
not;
The
verse begins, “And
they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice,
as
though they rejoiced not;” Paul
began with the words, “And they”
which refers
to “the church members” “that
weep” or
“who mourn, lament and bewail as for the dead”, “as
though”
which means “like and even as” “they
wept not” or
“they did not mourn, lament and bewail as for the dead”; “and
they that rejoice”
which refers to “the church members who were glad, well, thriving
and saluting exceedingly”, “as
though” or
“like or even as” “they rejoiced
not” which
means “they were not glad, well, thriving and saluting
exceedingly”. Paul encouraged the church members to put aside their
emotions of “mourning” and “rejoicing” because the “time
is short”.
The
verse goes on to say, “and
they that buy, as though they possessed not;”
Paul
continued with the words, “and they
that buy” which
means “the church members who attend to, buy, sell and do business
in the market place such as idle people who lounge there”, “as
though” or
“like or even as” “they
possessed not”
which means “they did not hold back, detain, retain, restrain,
hinder or take”. The church members who conducted themselves in
“business transactions” were to act as though they had no
“possessions”
at all.
When
we meditate upon these words from Paul, we understand the urgency he
is relaying to the church members in Corinth. Though people were
engaged in “mournful” activities, they were to act as though they
were not. Though they “rejoiced”, it was to be put aside,
and though they were engage in “business”, they were not to “hold
on to or be restrained by” their “possessions”. Jesus Christ is
coming again, and there are many people who do not know Him as their
“Savior and Lord”, and Paul was busy about letting them know. He
desired that the church in Corinth would have the same concern for
their “eternal souls” as he did, and therefore all things
pertaining to this life was to take a back seat to the “gospel”
of Jesus Christ. Let all who read these words meditate upon them and
know the “urgency” of the “short time”.
Next
time Paul gives instructions to church members to, “use
this world, as not abusing it”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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