NOTES for Co1 7:12-13

Why does Paul insist that families in which one spouse is a Christian should, if possible, be preserved, even if the other party is far from faith? Of course, one could explain everything by the value of family as such and by the desire to preserve that very family, if there is even the slightest chance of doing so. One could also recall the prohibition of divorce spoken by the Savior himself. But that prohibition applies only to Christians themselves. Even the Torah, in principle, permits divorce, though only in special cases and without much enthusiasm. As for pagans, from the point of view of the Torah there is no problem here: although the Torah recognizes marriage between pagans as a fact, it naturally imposes no prohibitions or restrictions on divorce in that case.

Why, then, in spite of all this, does the apostle still insist that a marriage between a Christian and an unbelieving spouse, or the reverse, should be preserved if possible? Judging by his own words, the main task for the Christian in such a situation is to bring the other party in the marriage into participation in the life of the Kingdom.

Witness, of course, plays an enormous role here. But witness within the family turns out to be an extremely difficult task, and if, according to the Savior's word, it is especially hard for a prophet in his hometown and in his own house, then his words fully apply to Christian witness as well. Christianity, however, is not a religion into which someone must be converted, but a life into which someone must be brought.

The main thing here is not to change the worldview of one's husband or wife, but to let that person feel what the Kingdom is. It is that very Kingdom which, under normal circumstances, is always present in the life of a Christian, and which, again under normal circumstances, a Christian can always share with the one who is nearby. Then the result may be completely unexpected. And a family in which at first only one of the two was a Christian may become truly Christian.