For the ones who love...
"Love came down and rescued me
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours, I am forever Yours."
- "Love Came Down" by Kari Jobe
When I was in the 10th grade, I got into a relationship with a girl who we will call Sarah. Sarah was a regular attendee at my local church and because of this, we had already established a very strong friendship even years prior to our dating. I was not the most good looking and confident guy, but finding someone who could actually accept me in my own brokenness and flaws made me feel like I could do almost anything and I spent my whole focus and effort for months to be able to provide Sarah with everything that I could possibly provide emotionally and monetarily. But just like most relationships in today's age, our relationship went from one that was bad to worse, and this eventually led to our separation due to the loss of determination to continue on by one or both parties.
I'm gonna pause the story here because this is all we really need to see what makes a relationship "work." I've found that more often than not, we humans with our fickle hearts have a hard time discerning between "acceptance" and temporary relief. Whether it be in the people we hang out with or in that significant other that provides us with what we delude ourselves to be as "approval," there is no one out there that does not derive their own validity from the things/people that they deem most important in their lives. For me, it was Sarah. And because of this relationship, I focused on trying to find love rather than letting love that had already found me become part of my life.
What I've come to learn over the years due to the hardships that came from the aftermaths of this relationship was that what I thought was "love" was not love at all. How could I possibly know what love is without knowing the love that God has for me (1 John 4:8)? When we fool ourselves that we need any more approval from the world than what God has already given us, we become confused. To truly understand the need for a solidified understanding of why this all matters, we truly need to be reminded of the Gospel.
Imagine a man greater than any other man; this man was the living embodiment of the Word. Now imagine that this man stepped down to lower status in order to be with even the most wretched sinners. Now imagine that this man bore calvary's cross two-thousand years ago so that you and I would not have to suffer now. Now imagine that this man resurrected from the grave conquering death and all of our sins. Now imagine that this man is inviting you, a person who is deserving of nothing, to be with Him forever. If you can't call this love, then I don't know what love is.
So back to this topic of dating and relationships - if you're in the position right now to be able to date a person of interest, I invite you to really think and pray. When man and woman come together, how can they become joined in love without in agreement of their undying love for the Lord that perseveres through any other love they may have (Amos 3:3)? Are you truly ready to be able to take this leap in faith that is glorifying God through the form of dating (Colossians 3:16)? Pray.
So for the ones who love - all I ask is that you do remember who you should put your love in first before putting what you call "love" into a person. Without God, love is not love.
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours, I am forever Yours."
- "Love Came Down" by Kari Jobe
When I was in the 10th grade, I got into a relationship with a girl who we will call Sarah. Sarah was a regular attendee at my local church and because of this, we had already established a very strong friendship even years prior to our dating. I was not the most good looking and confident guy, but finding someone who could actually accept me in my own brokenness and flaws made me feel like I could do almost anything and I spent my whole focus and effort for months to be able to provide Sarah with everything that I could possibly provide emotionally and monetarily. But just like most relationships in today's age, our relationship went from one that was bad to worse, and this eventually led to our separation due to the loss of determination to continue on by one or both parties.
I'm gonna pause the story here because this is all we really need to see what makes a relationship "work." I've found that more often than not, we humans with our fickle hearts have a hard time discerning between "acceptance" and temporary relief. Whether it be in the people we hang out with or in that significant other that provides us with what we delude ourselves to be as "approval," there is no one out there that does not derive their own validity from the things/people that they deem most important in their lives. For me, it was Sarah. And because of this relationship, I focused on trying to find love rather than letting love that had already found me become part of my life.
What I've come to learn over the years due to the hardships that came from the aftermaths of this relationship was that what I thought was "love" was not love at all. How could I possibly know what love is without knowing the love that God has for me (1 John 4:8)? When we fool ourselves that we need any more approval from the world than what God has already given us, we become confused. To truly understand the need for a solidified understanding of why this all matters, we truly need to be reminded of the Gospel.
Imagine a man greater than any other man; this man was the living embodiment of the Word. Now imagine that this man stepped down to lower status in order to be with even the most wretched sinners. Now imagine that this man bore calvary's cross two-thousand years ago so that you and I would not have to suffer now. Now imagine that this man resurrected from the grave conquering death and all of our sins. Now imagine that this man is inviting you, a person who is deserving of nothing, to be with Him forever. If you can't call this love, then I don't know what love is.
So back to this topic of dating and relationships - if you're in the position right now to be able to date a person of interest, I invite you to really think and pray. When man and woman come together, how can they become joined in love without in agreement of their undying love for the Lord that perseveres through any other love they may have (Amos 3:3)? Are you truly ready to be able to take this leap in faith that is glorifying God through the form of dating (Colossians 3:16)? Pray.
So for the ones who love - all I ask is that you do remember who you should put your love in first before putting what you call "love" into a person. Without God, love is not love.
I just ordered the book single dating engaged married and then I stumbled across your blog haha! This is a wonderful post with so much truth in it, I wish more people of this generation could understand everything you wrote
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