Going to the Chapel and...
It's something that permeates our society. It's in almost every movie and TV show, many books, and if you walk the halls of any high school, you could eaves drop on plenty of conversations on the topic... love, dating, and marriage. It's everywhere. I mean we even have a holiday that is devoted to the topic. The problem is that society, culture, and our humanness has given us such a distorted view of what LOVE actually is. They've taken something that is sacred and made it cheap or unrealistic or both!
This is what God's Word says about love:
I Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind, It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Philippians 2 (which
TL happens to be studying this week). I love it b/c those words hold a picture of who I should be, in the example of Jesus Christ. In verses 3-5 it says:
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
It goes on to give you a 'with skin on' picture of Jesus' humility. (He left glorious heaven to come to earth KNOWING we would reject him, beat him, and kill him. But without him doing that, we would be without hope for now and eternity.
I love verses 3-4, b/c it's a standard that I can ALWAYS hold my thoughts, actions, and intentions up to. I fail the test more often than not, but I have an awesome example that I can follow. I think it is VERY applicable to the whole dating/courtship issue. Preferring the other person, looking on the things of others, esteeming others better than ourselves. NOW THAT'S LOVE!
My friend
Jen sent this article/true story called
A List, Broccoli...and a Courtship out today (Thanks, Jen!). I thought it had some awesome points on the pursuit for 'love/courtship/dating/marriage' that I would mention here.
(this article is about 7 pages long. These are random sections taken from it.)
It begins with the decision to commit each day to God and His calling on my life. It comes with the knowledge that God has already chosen the person I am to marry if I am to marry. It is the realization that I can never be content married until I am content single. If I live in despair because I don't have a significant other, then I have not learned to lean on God.
Spending those unattached years making friends and being a friend is very fulfilling. The goal is to give more than you receive and bless others even when you are not being blessed by them. I won't pretend it's always easy, but it is rewarding when we stretch beyond ourselves to reach out to others as Christ did.
No matter how flawed we are, God has still chosen us for His purposes, and He desires the best for us. He doesn't want us to settle for anything, least of all the mate we will spend the rest of our days with.
Marriage should be about learning to give ourselves fully and unselfishly without expecting anything in return. The beauty of this principle is that, when we take the focus off what we want, God gives to us more abundantly than we ever could have imagined (Luke 6:38). It is His way of equipping us for His service not so that we will do His work like robots, but so that we will work for and with Him joyfully.
(emphasis mine)
After reading that article, I also found
another on the same website that said the following statement:
My encouragement to singles who want to marry: Invest in the marriages of others. Lighten their load. Cook meals for new mothers. Take the children on special outings so parents can have time together. Serve and you won't have time for discontent. Love and your heart will be filled with the love of others. Give and it will be given to you, pressed down and running over.
If you are interested in more... Check out
New Attitude '04. Godly relationships will be the topic of this FINAL NA!
bravenet.com
