A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. But in my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.
(1 Corinthians 7:39-40, NASB)
Today’s verses complete Paul’s quite lengthy exhortation to married couples and singles. And he ends by one last “stay as you are” message.
He directs these verses to wives, but I believe the same applies to husbands. As long as we are married, we are to stay married; however, if one spouse predeceases the other, the living spouse is free to remarry. And in most marriages? One spouse usually does predecease the other.
My husband always says I’m going to outlive him. He bases that on the fact that he’s six and one-half years older than I am and that women usually live longer than men. He also bases it on the fact that all of my grandparents lived well into their eighties, and my paternal grandmother lived to be almost 95. In contrast, his grandparents lived only into their seventies.
Only God knows if I’ll outlive Russ—or if he’ll outlive me. One thing I do know is that I’ll probably “remain as [I am]” should I one day be a widow. I love being married, and I love my husband. But I see my single friends as they maneuver the perils of dating. It doesn’t look like too much fun to me.
I agree with Paul that I probably would be happier just living for Jesus, being available to do all God calls me to do.
Yet since I hope Russ and I both live to ripe old ages, side by side, I’ll never have to think about being single. That’s my hope.
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