Are You Ready to Marry?

We can often find ourselves chasing after that perfect boyfriend or that girl that will change EVERYTHING. We feel like once we are in a relationship we will be happy or think about how much easier life will be once we're married. I know, personally, that I've let myself feel like I need to be with someone to be content and enjoy life. But this isn't what God has called us to.

When we're raising our hands and singing "Your Grace is enough" do we really mean it or do we really mean "Your Grace nearly does it but a partner would be nice"? God is so big, so loving, so all-encompassing that He is literally all we need! If everything was to disappear, all our friends, all possessions, all humanity, He would still have died on the cross for YOU! He would still save us and He would still be more than enough for us. If God isn't fully satisfying you, if He is leaving you wanting for anything, then you need to press into the Lord and ask Him to fully saturate and fully satisfy you. If God isn't causing you to be content and happy just in him, and you feel like you need someone by your side to find happiness, how can God ever be the centre of your relationship? You need to love God more than you love your partner or else you risk creating a false idol out of them.

Before entering into a relationship, ask yourself these questions:
-Is this something that I need to be happy or to feel wanted or needed?
-Is this person going to damage my relationship with God?
-Is this person going to discourage a passion for seeing God's kingdom here on Earth?
-Am I having to pretend to be someone else or be fake around them?
-Is this someone I can't see myself marrying?

If you answered 'yes' to any of those then I would be very careful entering into a relationship.

In the end like it or not, Christian relationships should be headed towards marriage. There is no point in 'just messing around' or just going out and seeing what happens. It will never lead to anything that is going to be good for you. Our generation seems to take the view that relationships are not anything important, sure everyone loves the drama, but our friends often think that going out with someone is something you can do with several different people in a matter of weeks! As believers, we should take relationships a lot more seriously, enter into them slowly and be in it for the long run. But most of all, like everything, let’s do it for Gods glory and put Him first.

 

Declan