The Love of God

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

THE LOVE OF GOD

1 Cor 7:12-16

12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

NIV

It is all about relationships here. If would seem rather in the course of a relationship when two people find love between them and decide to marry in order to be in the company of each other for their lives, that when one of them finds the Lord as their personal Lord and Savior that love which those two people share is still there. We would think that in love there is a complete willingness to share each other’s life, which would include ambitions, desired lifestyles as well as those personal experiences which cause some change in our thinking and behaviors. Open communication would be at the forefront of a marriage built on the principal of love and respect. Yet it appears there was some troubles with these situations in Corinth as well as we might find it the same in today’s church. If a marriage consists of just one spouse finding the Lord, which does seem to happen, the marriage finds itself in this situation spoken of here. It is a strange concept to understand how an unbelieving spouse could be sanctified, but nevertheless God makes them holy ceremonially in order that any children born in that union would be holy, as least until they reach the age of accountability. This might imply that children who are born of unbelieving parents are not automatically sanctified until they reach the age of accountability. Yet we would think that within the marriage of a believer and an unbeliever love, respect, communication would still exist. Of course the question has been raised about believing wives having to obey their unbelieving husbands, or best respecting them. We do need to notice that God has called the believer to live in peace, not making war against the unbelieving spouse, not pounding them over the head with scripture, keeping after them day and night about them being sinners and their need to repent and accept Jesus, but loving them as Christ does. If there is love in the marriage both spouses will still love and respect each other. If the unbeliever simple cannot come to terms with the situation we see what is approved of, but the point here is that in the most intimate relationship of marriage, a believing spouse might well love their spouse right into the Kingdom of God. After all is said, it is about the love of God.