I’m not the best person to write about this. I apologize at the beginning for what I’ve skewed or flat-out missed. I hope you know my heart. I don’t ever remember entertaining the thought that I might not be married. Diane and I met when she was 16 and I was 18 and we were married two years later. Looking back, that seems crazy. What were we thinking? But, after almost 34 years, I have no regrets. Yet I would not recommend the choice we made for everyone. Not because I don’t like being married but because of the words of Jesus. In our text for Sunday (Matthew 19) Jesus reminded the disciples that some people can “accept” being single and some cannot. (It appears the weak ones get married :)). The problem in “church culture” is that we sometimes try to normalize what Jesus never normalized. I mean by that statement that sometimes we try to “fix people up,” we try to “help them along” as if there was something wrong with being single. Jesus was single! According to the 2014 census, singles outnumber married people in the USA. Since our principal identity is not based upon our marital status, we should be careful about how we speak to those who have chosen to be single. There are a lot of reasons people are single, don’t try to figure it all out. It should go without saying but in this culture we have to say it; to be single should mean sexual abstinence. Marriage and sexual activity go together. Singleness and abstinence go together. That’s God’s plan. He made us and He knows what is best for us. Being single, like being married, has advantages and disadvantages. We should receive our “lot” in life and “bloom where we are planted.” There are ministries for singles that married people could never consider. There are opportunities for singles that married people only dream of. The danger for any of us is developing a hard heart about where we are in life. Discontentment and/or boredom with our current state makes us vulnerable to the enemy’s lies. There is something worse than being single…ask some married people! Let’s pray for the singles in our church…not that they’ll get married but that they will love God with a whole heart. Pray they will find Jesus to be all that the Word says He is. Pray that they will maximize this time of their lives for the glory of God and the good of others. Pray that they will become the kind of people who flourish in life, “like trees planted by rivers of living water.” If you’re single and you are a believer, you are a dearly loved child of God. You are welcome at Calvary. You are not “second-class” or a person “in-waiting.” You are an image bearer of God and you can be as whole a person as anyone on this planet. We want you and we need you. Pray for us married folk and we’re praying for you. Blessings! Here are links to a couple of blogs that are written by singles…they might sting a bit. http://www.christenacleveland.com/2013/12/singled-out/ and http://sarahthebarge.com/2015/01/7-reasons-why-its-hard-to-be-single-in-the-church/