One does not have to be the loneliest number

Those of you around my age, or “old” as my kids like to say, will be humming the Three Dog Night song about now. It’s long on emotion and short on lyrics; in fact, the idea that “one is the loneliest number” is repeated 18 times in just 24 lines. It is the classic plot. Boy loses girl. End of story. Now we find boy “just making rhymes of yesterday.”
I am all in favor of singles finding love in marriage, but until that happens, “one” does not have to be the loneliest number. There are a number of young single adults out there who understand that, and are making their lives count for something right where they are. Sydney, Elisa, Hannah and Jordan are students at a local college and work part-time jobs as well. They shared in a meeting we had in our home for singles last weekend that their desire is to know how to answer the questions their fellow college students are asking about life and love and truth. They are sitting next to young people in classrooms every week who deny the existence of God and who mock the morals of those who live for him. These four Christian students are learning to seize the opportunities and speak truth to their classmates.
Amos works for a national college program and loves his job. He loves the church, too, and doesn’t want to spend his single years just waiting to be married. Ben is a college student and works for an online company that sells headphones. He, Amos, and David, a young man working as a landscaper, said they want to know of ways they can serve the church and the community. Amos said he is learning how to be a husband and a father by spending time with married men in the church, but he also wants to work with the singles in the church toward common goals. We talked about helping local agencies that work with the homeless or the hungry, and those who serve at-risk children.
Bethany teaches kindergarten and has her own photography business. Jaime is learning culinary skills and loves to plan and organize meals. These two single ladies expressed a desire to use their gifts to minister to the church, and are doing that faithfully. Jonathan is a college grad who works at a warehouse while preparing for a possible future in the military. He said he wants to grow in leadership, and is thankful for the opportunities he has been given in church that have stretched him out of what is comfortable.
One single man could not be with us because he is serving with the Marines in Okinawa. He has been invited by his fellow Marines on numerous occasions to go to places in town that he knew would not be good for him to visit. He always politely declined their invitations, explaining to his buddies that his relationship with Jesus Christ was more important to him than a few hours of illicit pleasure. This past week, his buddies approached him with a different request. “Hey, we want to know the places where you can go,” they said to him, “Because we want to go there with you.”
One does not have to be the loneliest number. One can change a life. Two can help each other up when they fall. Three are almost unbeatable. “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Singles serving the Savior, I am encouraged by you. And, so very thankful.