Revelation 14:4
“These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.”
There is a group of people who often have been overlooked because of something over which they have no power to control. These people are often joked about and at times overlooked for a leadership position all because of a status which they cannot control. Yes, we have Sunday school classes geared just towards these people, but somehow we still treat them as if they are still adolescents who need to grow up and change their status. This group of people who I am talking about are single adults who for whatever reason have not found that person whom they feel God wants them to marry.
God has a special place for singles in Heaven. The verse above talks about a group of people who stood around the throne of God singing a song that only they knew. These singles must be special people to God because He could have chosen any other group of people, but He chose singles to sing the new song around His throne. The reason we know they are singles is because God says, “…they are virgins.” In spite of how many people may look down on a single adult, God uses them in Heaven. Let me quickly address this special group of people who God loves and uses.
First, single adults are not a second-rate people. I have talked to several single adults who almost get discouraged because of how fellow Christians treat them. Just because they are single doesn’t mean they’re weird or sodomites. Let me encourage the married people not to joke about their single status. They can’t control this! We don’t know if God wants them to be single for the rest of their lives or if He is just waiting to show them who they should marry. Let me encourage you to treat them as the adults they are. Just because they are not married doesn’t mean they are not adults.
Second, God can use single adults. Every pastor needs to readjust his thinking on how to use single adults. Single adults can make great Sunday school teachers because they can give their full attention to those in their class. Single adults can lead soul-winning groups or teach in a Christian school. Let me even go a step further and remind you that single adults can even be an assistant on a church staff, or be a missionary or an evangelist. I was a single adult for the first five years of my ministry as an evangelist. I thank God that pastors didn’t hold that against me. There are many still serving the LORD today because of those early years in which God used me as a single adult. Don’t be so closed-minded that you won’t use single adults because of their marital status.
Third, if you are a single adult, live a pure life and give a full effort to serving the LORD. These who sang around the throne were virgins. You may be a single adult, but your adult status doesn’t give you the right to be promiscuous. Do right and stay pure. If you will give all of your energies to serving the LORD, you will find it easier to stay pure.
Single adults are a special people to God. Let’s not be guilty of wasting their potential just because they are single. Realize that God has a purpose for them being single to this point in their life. Let’s not be guilty of overlooking God’s ability to use them just because they are single.