This is a series that I have been thinking about doing a lot lately, and I am really excited to finally be jumping into it. As you can probably tell from the title, I will be spending the next few months talking about dating and marriage, specifically from a Christian perspective. Some of the topics that I will be learning more about are the purpose of marriage in the Bible, the unique roles of the husband and wife, and how to prepare for a relationship as a believer. This post won’t be anything crazy, and I won’t be going into a deep study today, but I simply want to introduce this series, and talk about why this is something that has been on my heart.
One thing that I love doing on the blog is going through a topical series, because being able to study one topic for a long period of time allows me to go in depth, and really helps me apply it to my own life when I am learning about it consistently. It definitely is a bigger commitment than just writing about whatever I want each week, but the blog is definitely overdue for this.
Specifically, though, I have really wanted to talk about dating and marriage because of the relevance that it has had on my life. As of right now, I am a freshman in college, and ever since graduating high school, I have been thinking more and more about my future, and all that it entails. In middle school and high school, if I heard two people I knew started dating, it was an automatic assumption in my head that they were going to break up, simply because I knew that no one at this point in time was heavily considering marriage and thinking about futures. However, I have entered a completely new season of life, and so much has changed. My peers are getting into serious relationships and getting engaged, making this all feel much more real.
My whole life, I always knew that I wanted to get married. God’s design of marriage is such a beautiful thing, and ever since I was little, I always imagined that being a part of my future. This desire has definitely changed as I have grown older, though, because of my increasing understanding of it all. I have been able to observe the people in my life that really love the Lord, and see how their marriage glorifies Him, and it has been amazing. To be able to see the intricacies of a marriage of two people that really love God has just shown me that I want to find someone that will push me to grow closer to Christ and to do what He wants me to do in order to expand His kingdom. I want to be in a marriage where we glorify God better together than we do on our own, and I have a desire to raise a family in Christ and be able to teach and mentor them through life.
I am so grateful to have so many people in my life that I can look up to in this, not because they are perfect, but because I can see practical examples of what a Godly marriage looks like. This brings me back to 1 Corinthians 11:1, in which Paul says to “be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” I have seen many amazing women walk through the different stages of life by obeying the Father’s commands, and to be a firsthand witness of how their relationship with their husband is in accordance with the role that He has given wives is amazing, and makes me want to learn how to do those things. I want to learn to be a helpmeet, and I desire to one day find a man that truly loves the Lord and is someone that I am glad to respect, because everything that He does is done to glorify God.
In full honesty, let me preface by saying that I have never been in a committed relationship before. While I can go to Scripture and see what it says on these topics, I don’t have any life experience to stand as a testament for these things. I know that God has been building my testimony, and has been teaching me so much in the last few years. I trust that when the time is right, if this is the plan that the Lord has for my life, then He will bring someone along, and I trust that we will both be prepared for it. I know that the Lord does not promise marriage for everyone, but I also know that He knows the desires of our heart, and these desires will align more and more with His will when we delight in His law (Psalm 37:4). I have a strong desire to be pursued in a relationship, and that is all rooted in the husband’s role as the spiritual leader of the household. Because of this, I will simply put my focus on becoming more of a woman of God until He places someone in my life. The Lord’s timing is good, so instead of worrying about the “when”, I can simply focus on what He has for my life at this moment.
With all of that to say, I can’t give any of my own life as experience in this series. So, I have been reaching out to many of the different couples in my life, either married or engaged, all of whom are followers of Christ whose lives bear the fruits of the Spirit. I have been asking for advice on these topics, whether it be who to look for in a spouse, how to date in a way that glorifies God, and what advice they have for people like me who are not yet married.
So, this series will be a combination of Scripture and the life experiences of those that have already walked this path and are glorifying God in it. I am really excited to learn more about this, and to take this opportunity to learn and grow in this part of my life. I really hope you guys enjoy this series as much as I think you will, and that you would be encouraged to make your relationship with God the forefront of your life so that when the Lord does open this door, that you can trust Him in it and do it all to the glory of God.
Thank you all again for your love and support of Authentic Faith, and I can’t wait to get started!
Comments