It's Friday night. Time to hit the town on a fast-paced date, take in the latest blockbuster at the movie theater, or treat your wife or date to a romantic dinner! Or, in the absence of a significant other, there are parties to crash and bars to visit in search of sexual fulfillment and adventure.

Right? Well, maybe not. It's tough to be a single person. Our culture has developed so many stereotypes about the single life that it can be a challenge to find a godly perspective on being single. On the one hand, our married friends and relatives sometimes seem to serve as unwitting reminders of our own "failure" to find a mate. On the other hand, popular culture exalts an unmarried life characterized by a carefree lifestyle, devil-may-care attitude, and a single-minded focus on sex. Is there a role for singles that isn't defined by lack of a spouse or by failure to live up to society's hedonistic stereotype?

It may come as a surprise to find that the Bible speaks clearly and positively about the place of single people in the Christian life. Paul reminds us that although marriage is by no means evil, single people have the opportunity to serve the Lord with a God-centered focus that married individuals cannot attain (1 Corinthians 7). Christ himself notes that some people are called, whether by life circumstance or by personal decision, to live single lives (Matthew 19:10-12). Whether you're single by divorce, death of a spouse, personal choice, or because you haven't "found the right person," know that your singleness is neither a failure nor a license to indulge in an ungodly lifestyle. God has designed a special role for each of us, married or single, to play in His kingdom. Be open to God's call, whatever form it takes.