Dear Single Christian,
On Valentines day (or as I like to call it “the day of the Black Death”..just joking) its easy to feel ashamed or less than important because you aren’t married, or in a relationship.
So today especially let me remind your there’s an incredible blessing serving God as a single person.
As a forty-two (next month forty-three!) year old single person I definitely understand the frustrations with serving God as a single.
- the Bible clearly teaches God is glorified in the marriage relationship between a husband and a wife
- Marriage is especially necessary if you are serving within the local Church like I am
- Obviously this also presents purity challenges which God gives help with
- And serving as a single makes it easy to become isolated from others, just doing things on your own
At the same time there are blessings for the single Christian. One of the greatest being a large amount of free-time.
A great privilege within marriage (speaking from the husbands perspective) is protecting your wife and children, as well as caring for their financial needs. The wife’s privilege within marriage is caring for the day to day needs of children (a HUGE ministry) and encouraging her husband.
Obviously between work and these responsibilities there is little free-time left for yourself. This isn’t a bad thing since family is your priority. However there is little extra time or energy for deeper study or ministry.
The single person on the other hand has lots of time to themselves….
At the moment as I type the only other sound is a wall fan, and occasional snoring of a sleeping dog. That silence allows me to get MASSIVE amounts of work done in a short amount of time since I’m not interrupted.
Its possible on a good day to complete in 30 minutes what would take other people an hour or more. Thats not because I’m incredibly gifted, but because I have silence.
So Christian single let me exhort and challenge you to use wisely the free-time you been given as a gift of God.
- Use it for deeper Bible study
- Extended prayer
- Reading a challenging book
- Focusing on intense uninterrupted work (called “Deep Work” in Cal Newports book)
- Creating something (writing, building, etc)
- Ministering to those around you in a strong way
- Taking well-calculated risks
- And being purposeful with your life
There is still a part of me that seeks marriage if it is God’s Will because marriage is clearly commanded by God. But until that day (if it ever comes) I am committed to using the gift of singleness to the greatest effect possible.
Johnhwilburn.org 