Sermonette: October 30, 2023

"And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there."

– 1 Corinthians 7:17

Attributed to Augustine of Hippo, a fourth-century father of the faith: “There is a God-shaped void in every human heart.”

Each human knows how this feels. Life is full of disappointments. We wish our job was better; we wish our marriage was better; we wish our kids would do as we say; we wish we’d stick to our workout plan!

Enhanced by social media algorithms, which benefit from human insecurity, one could argue that this God-shaped void is getting bigger and bigger. How can we just be content with our lives? How can we find peace?

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul addresses this God-shaped void with hope. He tells us “Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there.” (1 Corinthians 7:17).

It’d be easier to get exactly what we want, to get all our prayers answered the way we want, to follow a formula that will create happiness and fulfillment. That’s the lie of advertisements: this change ... this product ... this lifestyle will make you happy.

But that’s not what Paul says. Paul says, "Stay where you are."

When we are challenged to "stay where we are," we can do the hard work of assessing our lives, of facing change head on, of being honest with ourselves and those around us.

"Staying where we are" also gives us the grace to rest. It’s okay if you’re not ready to make a big life change. It’s okay if you’re not feeling productive enough, qualified enough, good enough at the time. When you “live and obey and love and believe” where you are, God will meet you there, and use you to further His upside down kingdom. All glory be to God. Amen.