John Clark Singleness Analysis

Singleness is a struggle everyone can relate to at one time or another. For some it is a huge struggle and personal issue, for others it’s a time of joy and freedom. Singleness is a time where everyone seems to have advice to offer, whether that is advice on how to end singlehood, or advice on how you don’t need a significant other anyway. Emotions become confusing and overwhelming quickly, and in Struggling through Singleness, Clark uses the Bible to help singles embrace the blessing, and be educated on what God has to say about couples and singles. Clark’s opening point is that of the gift of singleness. Whether it is actually a spiritual gift or not, is largely up to debate. The world takes a view that some people are never meant to be …show more content…
Marriage is seen as a solution instead of closeness with God assuaging loneliness. This point was clearly countered by separation from God fueling loneliness in Genesis. Clark breaks down feeling alone into the basic makeup of the emotion and pairs it with the fall of man from God’s presence. Here we clearly see loneliness as a direct result of not having God directly in our lives. We were not created to be alone, but to exist with Him. Marriage and dating are often used to fill a void only God can fill, which is why married couples often admit to feeling lonely even when they have a constant companion. Human relations were never meant to take the place of a relationship with God, but to merely expand joy in different forms of relations. Clark makes a great point in directing thought towards marriages as a cure not being logical for all. Not all life circumstances are conducive to marriage, especially marriage as a solution for a problem. Mathew and Revelation are both used well to support the idea of marriage not being an answer as human relationships do not transfer from this moment in life to the eternal life with Jesus and we become His bride, making an earthly brides irrelevant at the feet of Christ. If human relationships become irrelevant at the feet of Christ then that leads to the idea that a relationship with Christ is the only relationship that …show more content…
Applying Biblical truths to our lives is sometimes hard to accomplish, or even find how to start. Clark ends her article in an application of how to be single, and she does it using the Bible as a source of direction. Being lonely and searching for more in life makes it easy for negativity and sin to work their way into life. The Gospel of Matthew addresses this well, and is referenced well by Clark. Christians and their lifestyle are constantly under attack. Even Jesus faced temptation, and His reliance on scripture helped Him in the fight between right and wrong. The passage pulled from Matthew to solidify the importance of knowing the scripture in order to fight against sin is a very important passage to believers, and fits the situation perfectly. When we are brought down by doubts, failures, and loneliness, we are called to do as Jesus did in the wilderness, rely on God and His Word to deliver us. Going to God with our struggles and doubts is also a key application that is sometimes forgotten. The simplicity of merely asking for help are often overlooked by our instinct to do handle it ourselves, but we serve the God who genuinely cares about us and our well being. We would do well to remember that He hears our prayers and cries and is always waiting for us with open arms. The story of Hagar is one of the many examples of God