The Gift

I Was Reading...
I was reading first Corinthians and came across 1 Corinthians 7:34-35 which says, "The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord." 

Made Me Think
This passage caused me to examine myself. I asked myself, "What am I concerned with right now in my single years?" I think it is easy not to be concerned with holiness and the things of the Lord. It is not hard to get caught up in the things of the world, our appearances, our plans, our jobs, our schoolwork and many other things. We may even get caught in the trap of discontentment because we aren't married and we would like to be. There are so many things you can concern yourself with. You can spend your time while you are unmarried in so many ways. The question is how will you spend your time?

The Subtle Lie
Disney always writes the same love story. The princess falls in love with someone, marries him, and they live happily ever after. The movies always end right after the princesses married. If disney were reality, we could conclude that our lives will be fulfilled when we get married and happily ever after starts when you say, "I do." Life does not begin when you meet prince charming. Satan want's us to wait around for prince charming so that we will be distracted and discontent. He wants us to focus on anything other than Christ (even if it's something good like marriage). 

We are princesses of THE KING though and we must further His kingdom. Christ is our prince who gave his life to rescue us from the evil dragon, Satan. This is not just a fairy-tale love story; It is a true love story. True contentment is found in loving our lover with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

The Gift  
A few verses before these verses, Paul refers to both marriage and singleness a gift 1 Corinthians 7:7 says, "Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that." If you are single, God has given you that gift!

 Singleness is not a curse but a blessing. God may choose to give you the gift of marriage some day, but if you are not content with what God has given you now, you will not be content with what He gives you later. Enjoy the gift God has given you rather than wishing you had another gift! You are able to serve the Lord in unique ways that married people cannot, and married people are able to serve in ways that single people can not. 

You can trust that God has your best in mind! His plans are greater than anything we could create. His plans may include trails, pain, and difficulties, but they will bring us closer to Him and make us more like Christ. Do not waste the gift God has given you! Trust that God is working all things together for your good!