The Best Known Single

      By Fern Horst

"For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 56:5)

When we think of Him we don't first of all think, "He was single." Neither do we spend much time, if any, wondering why He never married. Everyone knows who He is, or at least has heard His name. But the fact that He was single isn't what primarily comes to mind when we think of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Jesus knew what it was like to be a single man in a culture that highly valued marriage and family. The Jewish people in His day viewed the passing on of one's name through a son as the only way to keep on living after death. The fact that He was "cut off out of the land of the living" by dying without children meant that He should never have had a positive legacy attached to His good Name.

Today, a couple thousand years later, we know without a doubt that Jesus left an invaluable legacy to not only the next generation, but to every generation in every part of the world that came after Him.

Besides being very grateful for the gift of salvation Jesus gave us through His death and resurrection, I am also thankful that He showed us how to live a life that truly counts for all eternity. Humans have a tendency of placing value and worth on certain marks of achievement that we assume are to take place in succession as one progresses in years, including marrying and having children. For many people these events take place in the timeframe we assume they should. For many, however, they don't. Many end up never marrying, marrying later in life, being childless, or losing a spouse through death or divorce at a fairly young age.

But Jesus showed us that life without a spouse or children is not worthless. He showed us that what matters is that we accomplish God's purpose for us. He also showed us that when we do, no matter our marital or parental status, God can take our obedience and dedication to Him and multiply it many times over for good.

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)

© 2007 Fern Horst

If you would like to reprint this devotional in its entirety, whether it be in your blog, on your website, in your church newsletter, or elsewhere, please contact us for permission. If you are quoting this devotional, please provide a cite and a link back to this page. Thank you!

Visit the Devotional Archives

We appreciate your feedback, which is an inspiration, encouragement, and blessing to us! Please use our Contact Us page to send us your response. Thanks!