27 years a virgin - and loving it!!!
Why I'm happy to be single
I was at KYCK youth convention with my youth group a couple of weekends ago. One of the talks got me thinking about singleness again, and since I have been completely single (as in not even having a girlfriend) for about 26 of my 27 years, I think about singleness fairly often. Matt the speaker shared about the seasons of life, and how he was once in the single season, and was now in the married season. He also shared that when he was in the single season he was doing everything he could to get out of it, and I know what he meant. I have tried pretty hard many times to get out of the single season, but you know what? I recently realised that I actually love being single.
While I was at KYCK I was chatting to this guy in about year 10 and he asked me if I was married, I said 'no' and he said he was sorry to hear that. And then I said, 'no it’s ok, singleness is a gift from God too'. He grinned and said ‘good on you mate’
Now maybe I was reading him wrong, but I got the feeling that he didn’t believe me, as if I was just calling singleness a gift from God to make myself feel better. Thing is I actually do believe sincerely that singleness is a gift from God. I then shared with him exactly why I love being single, because as a single guy I have had so many opportunities to serve Jesus that I wouldn’t have had if I was married.
Now I know that there are still plenty of opportunities to serve God when you are married or dating, but I am a firm believer that there are more when you are single. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 that single guys and girls are concerned about pleasing Jesus, but when you get married ,your interests are divided between pleasing Jesus and pleasing your wife or husband. You know I think Paul is right, not that marriage is a bad thing, it’s a GREAT thing, but so is singleness!
I guess many of you who are reading this will get married some day, but I want to really encourage you to make the most of your singleness. Don’t feel down about it, but pray to God and ask him how you can use the gift of singleness he has given you to serve him. Maybe you could help out on a short term mission trip to Africa, or do some volunteer work for a Christian charity, or maybe there is a young Christian family at church who you could get close to, learning about being a Christian from the parents and joining them in encouraging their kids to love Jesus and live for him. There are so many opportunities open for you to use your singleness for God.
I love being single, but if I get married some day, I’ll still be stoked and I’ll keep serving God as a married guy. But even if I never get married that’s cool, because God is good and there is something coming that’s even better than having a girlfriend or being married- it’s called Resurrection. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, God said through the prophet Isaiah that for the Eunuchs (a really painful and irreversible way of being single!) who were faithful to him, he would give in his house something even better than having children, he would give them an everlasting name! If the Eunuch’s got it so good before Jesus even rocked up, how much better will we have it who are single for Jesus in this life.
So whether you are single for a short time or a long time, will you live your singleness for Jesus. Having done it for pretty much 27 years I can say from experience that it’s a blessed life. All glory to Jesus!
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