Question from a reader:

Being single and living alone is part of my earthly pain. How will that change in a truly meaningful way? Married couples anticipating Heaven picture having the same closeness and companionship with one significant other. They want to be together and fully expect this. Will some people enjoy this blessing while others are told to long for being one of billions who are married to Jesus?

Answer from Stephanie Anderson, EPM staff:

You wrote, “Being single and living alone is part of my earthly pain. How will that change in a truly meaningful way?” But that is Paul's point in 2 Corinthians 4—that our sufferings (real as they are) are not worth comparing with the weighty eternal glory we will experience in Christ's presence, even if we can't even imagine now how that could possibly be.

Married, or single, no answer any person gives will satisfy a heart that is not satisfied in Christ. We would each do well to bring our concerns fully to the Lord, and ask, “Are there lies that I have, subconsciously, believed about God related to this? Have I decided that Christ cannot fulfill us completely in Heaven? If so, what does that say about my view of God? Where might my thinking need to change, related to Him and to Heaven?”

Psalm 16:11 says, “In your presence is fullness of joy.” Not half joy. Not regret or sadness or disappointment. But fullness of joy.

Psalm 107:9 says, “For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” He Himself is the chief good thing. Only He can fully satisfy our hearts. Not another person. Not even the best of human marriages.

Yes, those who have a spouse who has died look forward to seeing them again. So do those who have lost believing parents, siblings, friends, and children. Think of Amy Carmichael, who served Christ as a single woman. She loved “the least of these” in India, and surely looked forward to a grand reunion in Christ's presence with all those she knew and ministered to.

Those who were single on Earth (like the Apostle Paul or Amy Carmichael) are certainly not second class to those who were married on Earth, both now and for eternity. The promises of God, of being part of His bride, of being fully satisfied in Him, are enough for all of us. He is good, and He has only good things ahead for all of us in His presence.

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