SUNDAY - 19TH JANUARY, 2025
MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO
THE THIRD CELIBATES - Fitted For A Manner Of Life Series 006
Matthew 19:12, KJV "For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."
You know who the third celibates are. They are those Jesus described as yielding up marriage to stay single just for the purpose of serving God and His kingdom.
Unlike the second celibates, this may comprise both men and women alike. I don't have to give you names but if you ever put in your browser, "religious celibates and saints", you'll see an array of names and persons belonging to each gender. Men and women have served as celibates not only in Christendom and for the cause of propelling the gospel but even in other religions. Mention it, Hinduism, Buddhism etc. Most of the religions in our world today believe in celibacy - being an eunuch for a religious cause or yielding up of marriage in order to propagate certain divine mandates.
It is in this context you can appreciate the words of Jesus that says in Matthew 19:29 that, "and every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."
Jesus acknowledges that to propagate the gospel, it might mean leaving home, going distances and being cut away from father, mother, siblings and your extended family. Though we should not seek to "put asunder what God has joined together" (Matt.19:6), yet we all know that this sacrifice even if it'll be temporary and on occasions might mean separation from one's own spouse or children. The Bible included wife and children amidst that number that of necessity must be forsaken.
As not to be hindered at all, there are those who without being coerced (but from being convinced and having perceived God's call on them to do the extraordinary or serve as a layman) would submit to being an eunuch for the kingdom of God. It is a call and if you don't perceive it, don't heed it. When someone is therefore a celibate for the kingdom, God could build much on him and entrust him or her with much. One celibate wholly given to God might be carrying and discharging what a company of Christians should do. One major reasons will be because he is available for use for the Lord without any other quarters laying demands on him. This is in contrariness with the married who seeks to please his or her spouse and eventually has divided interests (I Cor.7:32-35). The same reason why some ministers choose to go into full time ministry is same that might propel those who are gifted for celibacy to give up their lives for the kingdom.
Many know that the call on them might be that of suffering and one that might exert them. I don't know if Paul knew this or if Ananias told him privately (Acts 9:15-16). But Paul himself told us that the Holy Spirit testifies to him in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await him (Acts 20:23). This man, Paul remained a celibate till his death. He was married to the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He broke new frontiers and reached new lands before many apostles of his day. He wrote 2/3 of the New Testament. One of the reasons for that apart from the fact that a prediction or assignment outran him is the fact that he has no one to constitute weight to him. He doesn't have a wife as to think of looking back or a daughter whose when he recalls her face makes him have an emotional pull to go back home. He was a free man. A man without weight. A man who could run the race laid before him without anything drawing him back. And he ran to the finishing line and confesses, "I have finished my cause."
II Timothy 4:7, KJV
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:"
I pray, whether you're married or not, may you run to the finishing line. May you discern your call and embrace its details. Paul didn't copy Peter who had a wife. He realizes his gift for celibacy, capitalizes on it and does much more for God as an unmarried (I Cor.7:6-7). May we understand the intricacies and demands of our calls.
PRAYER: Lord, I am well situated in Your will for me in this Year 2025. I have full comprehension of what's the Lord's will for me. I take His consecration on me.
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN
Matthew 13:24-43 & Genesis 44-45
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