People and Lifestyle
I never understood why my Christian circle emphasized getting into a relationship for the purpose of marriage. After a series of casual dating, now I know why. God has designed humans to bond. To relate and be intimate. When we awaken love before its time, we can confuse lust and love.
Maybe you just got out of a relationship. Or you were in the “almost a relationship”. But it didn’t work out. Do you know that Paul in 1 Cor 7 calls singleness a gift? He does not call it a gift because there is a lack of desire for companionship. And it certainly does not mean a gift for the select few who don't experience emotional struggle or longing to be married.
When a relationship is over. There is a loss. I desired happiness. And I couldn’t understand why God wanted me to walk away where I am happy? Yet I have seen how God works. God reveals His plan not all at once. But one at a time. And it’s when I obey Him in the small steps that He may slowly reveal—as to say, “Will you trust Me?”
Yet in this season of dating, there are hurdles that can make us stumble, especially in the area of holiness. In a world that normalizes passionate love, how do we, as Christians, take a different stand in the way we ‘date’? What does it mean, then, to pursue holiness in all my thoughts, emotions, and actions during the dating season?
Have you been longing for a relationship? A person capable of delay in gratification and self-control is able to love well. If someone cannot control their own desire and delay their own pleasure, what makes you think he/she can sacrifice for you?
