16th Sunday after Pentecost

 I give my opinion… (First Corinthians 7:25).

On the Christian Calendar, these days between Pentecost and Advent, are called “ordinary days”—days when we live out our ordinary lives in the unseen presence of the Holy Spirit.

In First Corinthians, the Apostle navigates his way through a maze of ordinary day questions; like, what if a believer is married to a pagan—is such a marriage blessed? Jesus never addressed such a question. So, without a Jesus teaching, the Apostle comes up with his opinion—a breathtaking opinion (vss 12-16). And so it goes with the Apostle addressing an array of ordinary day questions concerning marriage, family and vocation.

He concludes his opinions with Apostolic restraint: “I think that I have the Spirit of God” (7:40). We might question an opinion or two; like his opinion that one might be better off not getting married because “the appointed time has grown near” (vs 29). Turns out “the appointed time” when ordinary days come to an end, and God makes known his Eternal Decision about us in Jesus Christ, has yet to come. Nevertheless, one hesitates to say the Apostle got it wrong. I suppose we should still live out our ordinary days anticipating that Day when ordinary days come to an end.

Meanwhile, during our ordinary days, we need the unseen presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us into good opinions leading to good decisions—decisions that follow the way of Christ. And if the Apostle can show a certain humility about his opinions; how much more ought we. Let our opinions be lower-case opinions; and, God’s opinion about us—about his creation, be an upper-case Opinion.