Contemplating the gifts God gives us. Pt. 3
Throughout God's Word, especially in the New Testament, He tells us about and explains the gifts that he gives us. There are so many, uncountable blessings that He lavishes on us also, but those are not listed as "gifts", per se.
Gifts, as we know them, come in all sizes, values, and levels of delight.
Some gifts are huge and exactly what you asked for, and there are some that get a reaction of "this is cool"! Others get, when you open them, "well okay", or "Meh". Thanks, next one please!
Today's gift topic may be ranked below all of these by most people.
We all have heard of, perhaps studied, and hopefully have experienced the "Gifts of The Holy Spirit" as listed in 1 Corinthians 12. You know the ones; wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.
These gifts are available to everybody in the church, for the edification of the church and we are told to eagerly desire these greater gifts. 1 Cor 12:31
All of those gifts are helpful, tangible and exciting! Of course we want them!!
But, not so much for Today's topic. At least for a lot of people.
This gift is definitely not meant for everyone and it is one that actually very few ask for or eagerly embrace. That’s because most would not consider it a gift.
THE GIFT OF SINGLENESS……
That's right. Rub your eyes, blink and read it again.
As soon as I read this, I was asking for the gift receipt...!
God is the one who calls it a gift. And since He’s never wrong, I think some of y’alls arguments are about to fail…but, there’s grace if you try. I know that I did..
In our modern-day world, being single, after a certain age, is looked down upon by the vast majority of society. They scream the question at you "why", almost implying that something is wrong with you. But this is based in their understanding.
Here are a couple of viewpoints from various "influential" society members;
Oscar Wilde summed up as such: “Celibacy is the only known sexual perversion.” I don’t know about the terminology he uses, but he’s on to something here in the eyes of the Evolutionists. Supposedly, all creatures are naturally driven to procreate to ensure the success and longevity of the species. So, the viewpoint here is, to not participate in that behavior is, well, wrong….
The Talmud went even further: “The man who is not married at 20 is living in sin"...
In the first century, Rabbi Eleazar said, “Any man who has no wife is no proper man.” (the “what’s the matter with you” question from society).
I believe that MOST adults today, male and female, are under the weight of this particular assumption.
The Apostle Paul, an unmarried man himself, explained and expanded on this subject in his 1st letter to the people in Corinth. He states;
"I wish that all of you were as I am, (single). But each of you has your own GIFT from God; one has THIS gift, another has that.
He goes on to talk about how a single person is able to focus on doing the works of The Lord, but a married person's interests would be and should be Naturally divided.
Did God give Paul a law to be laid down? No He didn't.
Paul states numerous times however, that he believed that his expressed views were lined up with God's will.
All of these are from chapter 7....
"I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy".
"But to the rest I, not the Lord,"...
"But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment',...
"and I think that I too have the Spirit of God".
Now, once this idea of that God gives singleness as a gift is accepted, there is a question that arises in just about everyone. How do I find contentment with this “gift” of living single, especially when everything inside me is screaming for a partner?
I know from experience, it's definitely a journey to a place of peace...
Like everything else in life, you must search for the positive aspects of the situation you are presently in, in order to survive, and hopefully to even thrive.
One of the most common things that people will draw strength and comfort from is the fact that you do not have to get anybody's approval to do something! (except for God, of course) Freedom to do you! For some of us, this is a journey of discovering who we really are.
H.G. Wells is quoted as stating; “Sometimes you have to step outside of the person you’ve become and remember the person you were meant to be. The person you want to be. The person you really are.”
Redecorate the house, take off spontaneously to the beach or mountains, adopt 2 kittens, (make sure that you stop at 2!), have breakfast for dinner three nights in a row, or go hang out with your friends at the spur of a moment with the chores unfinished!
Even by doing these types of activities, more than likely though you will find yourself with big blocks of time on your hand. And, odds are, you don't know how to fill them or are filling them incorrectly. The more recent your singleness, the higher those odds are going to be.
Whether you are single temporarily, of your choice or circumstance or you have made the decision to make it your permanent status, I know that the Lord is the one that wants to fills these voids with and for you/us. And this is where the "magic" of peace and satisfaction happens!
His Word is filled with calls to fellowship with Him. He truly desires to be with you everywhere that you go, as your constant companion.
Have you seen the old classic movie "Harvey", with James Stewart?
This is what I set in my mind when I head out, that I'm taking Jesus with me, just like the character Elwood took Harvey, the invisible rabbit. They walked, they talked, and they enjoyed each other's companionship wherever they went. Even though no one saw Harvey, he provided non-human companionship to Elwood.
In the same way, when we go out, we should be mindful to take Jesus as our personal companion by constantly talking to Him and listening for His responses!
I don’t know about you, but there are days when I am reluctant to go out by my lonesome because, quite frankly, it just gets old. And please know, that this is completely normal. It happens to every one! But we cannot let that become the norm. The worst thing we can do is to let the forces of darkness isolate us.
By making a deliberate effort to keep an ongoing, open, vibrant conversation with your Lord while being out and about, can make these little jaunts into mini-adventures!
I am an advocate of using the app "Meetup" to find groups of people that share some of the same interests and hobbies that I do. I belong to a handful of them, with about half being motorcycle riding groups. I also have my own group for Christian Singles. Be very careful though, I would guess that 95% of these groups are not Christian based.
Volunteering at church and in other organizations will bring you an immense feeling of purpose, along with being a social interaction that satisfies the additional need for community. I recommend doing it as much as you can without making your life a rat-race of activity.
But perhaps the greatest help, is having proper brothers and sisters in The Lord that you are in close fellowship with. This call to fellowship definitely can fill the lonely voids in your life. There is a HUGE emphasis on the above word “Proper” as we all are pretty much surrounded by brothers and sisters in The Lord. The problem arises in the reality that not all of them are intent on treating the opposite sex in a Godly manner.
To have a group of righteous, loving and mature family members to do life with softens the blow of being single and helps drown out the loneliness.
I have been oh so blessed to have been drawn into a tribe of holy singles.
My brothers are a treasure of wisdom and shenanigans and my sisters, through hanging out together, helps to safely satisfy the missing female companionship that I crave.
I think we have what the singles world is dying for.
Real, Righteous fellowship and connection.
Yeah, I'm still searching for that gift receipt, but, because of the above practices, it's not being done in a flurry of panic.....
God bless you in this journey!
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Bruce Not Almighty, signing off....for now.
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