We need to encourage the single people in our church who are living for Jesus Christ in a mostly anti-Christian culture.    I Corinthians 7:28 tells us “those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.”   Later in that chapter we are told by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul that “An unmarried woman is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world-- how she can please her husband (corresponding language refers to husbands being concerned for their wives.)”   If you are a single person, be encouraged that God is working His perfect purpose and will in and through your life!   Our church and our communities would definitely be more empty if you were not a part of us.   God desires to bless you with much more love, power and wisdom as you reflect the glory of our risen Lord Jesus Christ.    You are God's child! 

To the married among us, do we involve our single brothers and sisters in family life?    Do we call them, invite them over, include them in our activities?  What do we do to recognize and encourage our single friends to live life “to the full” as God has called them?    Do we call them even when we don't need babysitters?  Do we ask them to speak into our lives, and do we recognize the rich blessings they can offer our children as well?  Psalm 68:6 says “God sets the lonely in families.”  We married people have an opportunity to bless our single friends, and sometimes we miss it.    

It has been said that a major contributor to our cultural demise is the breakdown of the family.   So we hear teaching to enrich marriage, we celebrate mothers on Mother's Day, fathers have their special Father's Day, and many homes cater to the whims and wishes of pampered children.    Certainly, mothers, fathers, and children are family components who need input from the church.   Fathers, godly fathers, are nearly on the endangered species list.  But where does that leave single people?  We can unwittingly marginalize single people in our churches.  Brothers and sisters, this should not be!   When is the last time you thanked God for your single brother or sister in the church, and prayed that He would encourage their hearts?   Have you recently commended a single sister or brother for saving their virginity—no small accomplishment in our society, and a testament to the life of God at work in our single brothers and sisters!      

Our paper recycling container gets a big pile of unwanted papers in my semi-regular efforts to organize our desk and office, so I understand the mental, environmental, and even emotional tones behind a question like “Why should I get another piece of paper?”  Let me explain.

This “paper,” and subsequent issues, intends to address practical issues of faith as they work out in our lives—who we associate with, how we live, how we work, how we raise our families, how we approach “church.”   There is a growing consensus among some modern evangelicals that the church must work to make the gospel “relevant.”   Initially, I react to the term “relevant”, and my general critique is to say “The gospel of Jesus Christ...is the power of God for salvation to all who believe” (Rom. 1:16).   The gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of salvation leading to life of purposeful faith in God, is relevant for any culture, time period, and socio-economic level.  That said, it is still right to come before God and each other with these reflections: “So I'm a Christian.  What does it mean to live as a Christian today?”

Jesus tells us in John 3:18 that there are two kinds of people: 1. Those who believe in Jesus Christ and are not condemned; 2. Those who do not believe in Jesus Christ and are condemned.   Perhaps another way to look at the “How should a Christian live?” question is to ask “What does it mean to believe?”   The truth is, until we believe in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, questions of how to practically live out our faith are not relevant, since it is always of first importance where our belief is.   We will never “EARN” our way to salvation by doing good works, as we have likely read numerous times from Ephesians 2:8,9, “Not of works, so that no-one can boast.”    Yet the Bible does teach that those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will desire to honor God through obedient sacrifice to Him.

So there we have it.   If you have accepted the gift of God's grace for salvation through Jesus Christ, and if you have recognized that you cannot earn your way to God's favor through your own merit, you are then compelled by the Spirit of God to become “God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.”   (Eph. 2:10).   May we continue to grow in a saving faith that works to the glory of God!