The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Genesis 2:18
I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7:32-35
I don’t like the term “single”. It’s a strange term for people not in a committed romantic relationship, broadly, but it’s downright inappropriate for Christians. No Christian is ever alone. By definition, we are closely integrated as members of the same body, the Church.
Now the point of this writing is not to be pedantic about word choices, although I am tempted to indulge in that further. No, the Biblical message that needs conveying here is much more profound. Adam’s relationship was based on being the only man in the Garden with a partner tailor-made for him. Adam, ancestor of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Jesus couldn’t be the progenitor of the Chosen People without making babies.
But how do we give people access to the promises of God now? By birthright? Ah, by belief! God is most certainly interested in increasing his number of Children, but those are added not by being born but by being Born Again in baptism (John 3). And when we are children of God, we are no longer alone. We have us.
Ethan Kirl
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