Receiving a gift should stir feelings of great gratitude. But if we were to play a word association game with ‘singleness’, how many of us would associate it with joy, thankfulness and other positive emotions? There have certainly been times I’ve failed to treat this gift as something good, provided by our loving heavenly Father.
An article that looks in particular at understanding biblical teaching
It’s worth reminding ourselves that every human being experiences singleness. Some will marry, and half of them then experience singleness again when their spouse dies. So, while the issue may have a particular resonance for those with SSA, it is relevant to everyone – not least single Christians.
Despite the clear call to speak God’s message, the Church has always faced the pressure to keep quiet, especially when it comes to articulating areas of the Christian message that are more counter-cultural than others. For the modern Church in the West, the pressure to not talk about God’s perspective on same-sex relationships has grown.
In the midst of all the poetry in the book of Song of Songs, I have been struck by a very practical teaching that is stated three times: “Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires”. This implies that it is unwise to allow this love to develop prematurely.
The word holiness can give rise to thoughts of legalism. Rightly teaching the Bible truth on ethics and godly behaviour can so easily cause others to consider us dour or legalistic. Keeping in mind all this confusion around the command “be holy”, we must remind ourselves of some fundamental motivations for holy living.
Preston Sprinkle (don’t you just love that name!?), is an author, teacher, and speaker with a PhD in New Testament. He’s written a gem of a book called ‘People to be Loved.’ It’s a book that takes seriously the challenge of revisionist teaching, but throughout it radiates a pastoral warmth.