There are also many people who have made a personal commitment to the single life even though they have not taken formal vows. The commitment might have been a personal choice, to give them the freedom to serve the Lord in a particular way or follow a particular path; or it might have been a process of willingly coming to accept the single way of life, through force of circumstances or other decisions. These people, as long as that commitment remains, are equally called to show the love of Christ through their lives, and to put their freedom at the service of others in their work and prayer. In this sense the committed single life is rightly considered a vocation.