Gifts That God Gives To Us, Part Three

  

 

 

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, a very forced smile and "Well, okay', or 'Meh'". Thank you, but next one please! 

 Today's gift topic gets ranked below all of these by most people.

 We all have heard of, perhaps studied, and hopefully 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. See 1 Cor 12:31 for the list.

All of those gifts are helpful, tangible and exciting! Of course we want them!!

 

Not so much for the subject of today's topic.

Most of us would not consider it a gift at all.

 

This particular gift is definitely not meant for everyone and it is one that actually very few ask for or eagerly embrace.

 

 

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, or at least questioned by the vast majority of society. They silently scream the question at you "why", pretty much implying that something is wrong with you. But this is based on their understanding. 

 Here are a couple of viewpoints from various "influential" society members:

 Oscar Wilde summed it up as such: “Celibacy is the only known sexual perversion.”  It remains unclear to me on where he stood on the whole creation vs evolution argument, but I think that he’s on to something here.

I believe that God designed it in to all creatures, including us, to be  naturally driven to procreate so as to ensure the success and longevity of the species. So, his viewpoint here seems to say that 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 we get from society).

 

I believe that MOST single 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 first 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 in line 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."

 

 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 has been a tough journey to a place of peace…

 

Like all difficult situations in life, you must search intently for the positive aspects of the situation you are presently in 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, when the clutter from having another person tied to you in life is removed, this can become a journey of discovering who we really are. And if need be, fixing some things…

 

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 two 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, you will find yourself with big blocks of time on your hands. And, odds are, you don't know how to fill them or if you are filling them incorrectly. The more recent your singleness, the higher those odds are going to be.

 

 

 Whether you are single temporarily, by 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 fill these voids for 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 everyone!

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, you can make these little jaunts into mini-adventures! 

 

I am an advocate of using the app "Meetup" to find groups of people who share some of the same interests and hobbies that I do.

I belong to a handful of them, with about half of them being motorcycle riding groups. I used to 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 can bring you an immense feeling of purpose as it utilizes your free time. Also, the social interaction will help satisfy 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 church-going people 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. We live, laugh, love, and do life together, all the while having each other's back.

 Through hanging out together, my close brothers are a treasure of wisdom and shenanigans and my close sisters help to safely satisfy the missing female companionship that I crave.

 I think we have what the singles in the world are dying for. 

 Real, Righteous, safe fellowship and connection. 

 

Yeah, I'm still searching for the person who is holding my personal gift receipt, but, because of the above practices, it's just not being done in a state of panic.....

 

God bless you in this journey.

 

If you do not personally know Jesus and want to know how to obtain Salvation and Eternity, message me and I will show you how to receive a love you never thought possible!

 

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Bruce Not Almighty, signing off....for now.

Bruce Wallace

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Single

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