So I wasn't at Sunday School this week, I asked two people to email with what was taught so I could post something on it. I have only heard back from one of them so far, but he said it was just a recap. Which is good that way I won't miss anything while I am here in MO.
So a recap. Well so far all we have really gone over is terminology; the history behind the meanings of different words like dating and gay. We also discussed the natural attraction between boys and girls, guys and ladies, men and women. The way he explained this is quite funny. He used a female dog named Kate, and a male person named Fred. :) yep it's pretty funny! Anyways everyday Fred had to walk past Kate's cage on his way to school, and the first few times he doesn't even notice her, but as time passes he starts to say hello, then he stops to pat her on the head, then he pets her, then he starts to give her a treat every time he passes her cage. This continues until one day while Fred was at school the cage door was left open and when he stopped by on his way home she got out and followed him home. Now when Kate's owner/father got home from work and sees Kate is gone he asks his wife where she is and she says that the cage door was left open and she followed Fred home. Now in today's culture this is considered normal and the father wouldn't really do anything, if anything at all. But that is not what the Bible says is write. The father is to be her PROTECTER! Not just let anyone who knows her take her home.
Which reminds me, do you know what the Bible has to say about courtship? Dating? Hooking up? Getting to know someone? The process of finding that miss/mr perfect? How about anything that happens before marriage?
Well that's all for this time.
I haven’t been on this blogger thing in a while and this post caught my attention. While I haven’t stumbled upon any verses on courtship 101 , I do have several verses that come to mind on the topic of relationships. First of all, I don’t believe every Christian is meant to one day be married. ( & the way I was raised the only reason for courtship would be if you were seeking marriage) In fact, one of my favorite writers/people of all time, the Apostle Paul, seems to be of the school of thought that it is better to remain single ( Check out ICor. 7:25-40). However, I realize that many times God does call us into marriage and in order to become married to someone you kinda have to court/get to know them in some way. So God doesn’t just leave us to our own devices to navigate that tricky road. Thank goodness! First of all, I believe that God intends the male to be the leader of any relationship from the start. ( In marriage the woman is called to submit to and respect her husband and this respect should first be cultivated at the beginning of their courtship). Second of all, I believe that Christ should be the center of ANY relationship among believers..and for this to be most important then obeying Christ in action toward one another is key. Which brings up the point of obeying God by having CLEAR boundaries: Hebrews 13: 4 makes it pretty clear that sex is to be saved for marriage. To back up a little, I think that prayer should be a big part of the beginning of any courtship period. For example, in stories in the Bible before a “match” was made there was always a LOT of prayer beforehand such as when Abraham’s servant prayed for God to show him the woman to be Isaacs wife ( Gen 24) and also contemplation ( not a rush into decision) such as when Joseph contemplated his relationship with Mary (Matt 1: 19-25). Also ( & this is just common sense) in order to begin the process of “finding miss/mr perfect” there has to be a meeting of the two such as when Boaz took notice of Ruth in the fields & then Ruth showed up (intentionally) at Boaz’s feet at the harvest “party”. The Bible also makes it clear that we are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2Cor. 6:14-18), which nixes the whole “missionary dating” thing. In the end, our purpose in life is to glorify God in whatever means Christ asks us to…and if this is at the forefront of both people’s mind in regards to every aspect of life ( including courtship) then I think that courtship relationship would honor God whether it ended in marriage or not.
ReplyDeleteThank you for responding! You are one of like only two that seem to be interested in making an effort to do so... Not that anyone ever reads these things anyways! But thanks to all those who do! And especially the ones who reply! THANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteI apretiate your view, and wish more people abided by it. As I said in an earlier post I believe in all those things, but I'm just now searching for the facts to back up my theories. Also I have been posting these on the Sunday School in hopes of some of my friends getting on here and reading it. So you hit it spot on! Thanks.