Making Room for Someone New!
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33(NIV)
by Alexandra Copeland
In 1Corinthians 7:7 The Message(MSG), the Apostle Paul wrote, “Sometimes I wish everyone were single like me—a simpler life in many ways! But celibacy is not for everyone any more than marriage is. God gives the gift of the single life to some, the gift of the married life to others.” Heavenly Father is our sufficiency, and He takes such great care of us that many in the faith are perfectly content to remain single. Some have tried married life, and things didn’t go so well for them. They have decided that being single is the best choice. We know from the Apostle Paul’s divinely inspired words that this too can be a gift. The main thing of course is whether a person can remain celibate while single. This is something that must be considered very seriously so that whether your decision is to remain single or to follow a path to matrimony, you are committed to maintain a wonderful relationship with Heavenly Father.
In 1Corinthians 7:7 The Message(MSG), the Apostle Paul wrote, “Sometimes I wish everyone were single like me—a simpler life in many ways! But celibacy is not for everyone any more than marriage is. God gives the gift of the single life to some, the gift of the married life to others.” Heavenly Father is our sufficiency, and He takes such great care of us that many in the faith are perfectly content to remain single. Some have tried married life, and things didn’t go so well for them. They have decided that being single is the best choice. We know from the Apostle Paul’s divinely inspired words that this too can be a gift. The main thing of course is whether a person can remain celibate while single. This is something that must be considered very seriously so that whether your decision is to remain single or to follow a path to matrimony, you are committed to maintain a wonderful relationship with Heavenly Father.
Being single is a gift, and so is
being married. While a person is single, he or she has an
opportunity to devote themselves fully to Heavenly Father,
and to develop a very intimate relationship with Him. It is
during this time of being unmarried that a person can learn
the most about the care and peace that God provides. The
Apostle put it best when he said in 1Corinthians 7:32-34 The
Message(MSG), “I want
you to live as free of complications as possible. When
you’re unmarried, you’re free to concentrate on simply
pleasing the Master. Marriage involves you in all the nuts
and bolts of domestic life and in wanting to please your
spouse, leading to so many more demands on your attention.
The time and energy that married people spend on caring for
and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in
becoming whole and holy instruments of God.” I know
God’s heart is that we are happy in whatever state we
choose, but the importance of spending time with Him, and
nurturing the bond we share with God is the point of Paul’s
instruction in this verse.
Those that are desiring marriage
can have every assurance that Heavenly Father will bless
them to cross the path of a person that will be a blessing
to them, and vice versa. We should also be mindful that
Paul’s words in 1Corinthians 7 convey a very important piece
of wisdom about this desire as well. Marriage comes with
complexities that can exhaust our resources if we are not
prepared spiritually to handle them. Any time that we set
our intentions on increasing in any way, something more of
us is going to be required. Jesus Christ told us in Luke
12:48 that to whom much is given, much will be required. So,
making room for a new person in your life should mean that
you will be committed to pursue a certain degree of
spiritual maturity before you actually meet this special
someone new.
Some single Christians may not
want to lend themselves to the patience required for this
pursuit. They might think that it will take too long, but we
should never worry about the limitations or consumption of
time when it comes to our spiritual growth and maturity.
God’s timing is always perfect, and we need not ever try to
rush things or slow them down when Jesus Christ is at the
helm.
Another extremely important
aspect of making room for someone new in your life is taking
the time to examine your motives. Sexual desire is an
important aspect of marriage, and God will take care of this
need. He created us with sexual desire baked in our
physicality, but a physical need shouldn’t be the
predominate motivation for seeking marriage.
Heavenly Father is a God of
supreme order. He teaches us this through His Word and by
His example. We can see order all around us in His
extraordinary creation. When it comes to our relationship
with Him, we are required to maintain a certain order in our
priorities as well. God must be number one. Jesus Christ
instructs us in Matthew 6:33(NIV),
“But seek first his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well.” When we seek the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness first, blessings continually flow and
we have a solid foundation to build our lives upon.
It is very easy to make our
desire to partner a very selfish endeavor—to make it all
about ‘ME’, but that isn’t the way of Christ. Time and time
again, we learn in God’s Word how our Lord and Savior put
the needs of others before his needs. He was selfless,
humble, and extremely compassionate. Jesus Christ knew the
heart of the Father was to make people whole so that they
were able to love like he loves and give like he gives. We
see this evidenced in the many healings that he performed.
He fulfilled the prophecy, and said in Luke 4:18 (NIV),
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim
good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom
for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to
set the oppressed free.”
Not only are we followers of
Jesus Christ, we are his ambassadors, and we have his spirit
abiding in us. Our intention and motivation should be the
same as his. 2Corinthians 5:18 (NIV) tells us,
“All this is from God,
who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation.” This ministry of
reconciliation—reconciling others back to God—has to be our
first priority. The desire to model Christ for our partners
and to help them be their best for God must continually be
our mission in marriage. It should serve as our chief
motivation for wanting to partner.
This is no small thing, yet
partnering—sharing the journey—is such a basic part of life.
It is also an aspect of the Christian life that many are
finding very challenging. Finding the right person also
comes with its own set of challenges, but much of this is
due to not putting in the time with God to really get
spiritually tight with Him. When you make an earnest
commitment to sharpen the areas in your walk that will
undergird the foundation of your marriage in the future, you
will make room in your heart for someone new. And God will
see to it that this special person crosses your path at just
the right time. ■
New International Version (NIV),
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright
©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by
permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from The
Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001,
2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
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