Does vocational singleness reflect the Trinity?
I joined Vanderbilt Medical Christian Fellowship for a conversation about intimacy needs and vocational singleness.
We recognized how Christian marriage reflects the complementary, intimate, permanent, life-promoting, sacrificial, and hospitable nature of the God's love. But what about vocational singleness?!
1. DIVERSE - The differentness between vocational singles in friendship reflects the diversity in God’s family. They still need healthy relationships with people of the opposite sex, parents, and children of all ages and stages of life.
(pointing observers to the complementarity God's family)
2. INTIMATE - Jesus and Paul recognized vocational singles’ need for committed companionship and promised a 100-fold of family in this lifetime. Vocational singles enjoying family testifies to the fullness of God’s love and gives every Christian hope for our New Jerusalem family.
(pointing observers to the intimacy in God's family)
3. PERMANENT - Through the lifetime nature of vocational singleness, celibates for the Lord consistently build up the kingdom.
(pointing observers to the permanence of God’s love)
4. LIFE-PROMOTING - Vocational singles have the time and energy to share the gospel with not-yet-believers, mentor new Christians, and have many spiritual children.
(pointing observers to the life-giving nature of God’s love)
5. SACRIFICIAL - Vocational singles give up coveted experiences of our age (romance, dating, marriage, and sex).
(pointing observers to the sacrificial nature of God's love)
6. HOSPITABLE - Vocational singles can offer family to those on the margins without the need to compete for belonging.
(pointing observers to the welcoming nature of God's love)
In these ways, vocational singleness is also a metaphor for the Trinity and Christ's relationship with Church.
What do you think?
Does vocational singleness reflect the love in God's family as much as Christian marriage?
Read more at https://www.pieterlvalk.com/blog/leveraging-christian-singleness
