Why does God call some people to vocational singleness?

Answer: To give hope for a time without the need for romance or exclusivity!

We explored this question when I recently taught (virtually) at Cornerstone Anglican Church (Bridgeport) about discernment and vocational singleness.

Yes, vocational singles have the time/energy to do kingdom work parents often can't, and vocational singleness is an image of Christ and the Church.

But another way vocational singleness is for the sake of the kingdom is that it gives every Christian hope for the New Heavens and New Earth (NHNE).

In Luke 20:34-36, Jesus teaches that all will be celibate in the NHNE. So vocational singleness preaches the gospel (in way that marriage doesn't) by serving as a physical sign and hope for how we will all live in the NHNE.

Contemporaries of early Christians saw marriage as a necessity to secure physical protection, wealth, and a legacy through descendants.

So when early Church Christians saw celibates enjoyed family, belonging, and honor in churches, they were encouraged by this preview of a NHNE where God would keep us safe, provide everything we needed, and would never forget us.

But today, westerners seem interested in romance and marriage because they promise a way to find faithful love and escape loneliness.

So modern Christian vocational singleness can uniquely testify to the fullness of God’s love by previewing a time when we don’t have to compete—to be more attractive or intelligent or funny than others—in order to be loved by others and belong in a family.

I hope that when Christians see me experiencing community in the Nashville Family of Brothers without the need for romance, exclusivity, or competing for each others’ affection; they experience for the fullness of God’s love in the kingdom to come.