My sisters and I have been having wonderful times together washing each other's feet....(I will give that revelation in the next blog). Below I am sharing something one of my sister's (Genevieve) wrote regarding dating and God. Please note the disclaimer and provide your comments!
Disclaimer:
The following is for the spiritually mature. It is not a character analysis of anyone, it is just me sharing a revelation from God that he has allowed me the opportunity to share. It is for my brothers and sisters in Christ to be aware of since many of us have experienced or are experiencing this.
"The Profanity of Dating" as revealed by GOD
The world's view of LIFE is foolishness to GOD, let me start by saying that. As young leaders in God's kingdom we are to come out and be separate from the world, not in an elitist manner, separate and holy. The bible tells us in Romans 12 that we are to present our bodies unto God as a living sacrifice HOLY and ACCEPTABLE to God because it is our reasonable act of worship. The bible also tells us that we are to be HOLY is HE is HOLY. With all of that said, we can now dive into why dating is profane. We will start with the definition of profanity (these definitions come from non-biblical dictionaries by the way):
profanity (thefreedictionary.com)
Noun
pl -ties
1. the quality of being profane
2. coarse or blasphemous action or speech
Profanity- profane language or behavior (Encarta Dictionary)
Language or behavior that shows disrespect for God, any deity, or religion
profane
Adjective
1. showing disrespect for religion or something sacred
2. secular
3. coarse or blasphemous: profane language
Verb
[-faning, -faned]
1. to treat (something sacred) with irreverence
2. to put to an unworthy use [Latin profanus outside the temple]
profanation n
tr.v. pro•faned, pro•fan•ing, pro•fanes
1. To treat with irreverence: profane the name of God.
2. To put to an improper, unworthy, or degrading use; abuse
Now that we have established what profanity is we can dive into the heart of the matter. *Again I note that this was MY revelation from God, this is only meant to be received as knowledge not condemnation.*
The world has it's idea of how a man and a woman ought to discover that they are husband and wife.
This is what we know as "dating"; the process of getting to know someone "better" to decide if thats who you want to be with forever. After all, if you want a successful marriage you must date first right???WRONGO!!!! We are supposed to seek the kingdom of God, then GOD will handle the rest.
Dating, in my opinion, was created institutionally to elimate God's presence and power from the midst. It is a set-up of the enemy to serve as a catalyst for pseudo-marriages and "testing of the waters". God never intended that, marriage is sacred to God so when people just go off dating without seeking God's face and counsel for their lives their action is irreverent and their actions are profane.
People of God, correct me if I'm wrong. Where is dating in the bible?
Let me help you...NOWHERE. The bible speaks of three types of relationships (outside ofparent-child). They are:
1. Friendship
2. Brothers-Sisters
3. Marriage
I will be writing a note on the difference between those three at a later date (soon) but I will touch on marriage now.
In the Bible, there were three steps the Jewish people had to take when getting married. The families first had to agree to the union, and then a public announcement was made. At this point, the couple was betrothed, or engaged. Finally, they were officially married and began to live together. Betrothal, then, was somewhat similar to what we call engagement now, except that our society does not honor the seriousness of engagement as they did then. When a Jewish couple was betrothed during Bible times, they were already bound together by a contract that could only be broken through death or divorce.
Any Christian who is considering marriage needs to realize the depth of this kind of commitment and not jump into it lightly. God intends marriage to be a lifelong commitment, not a temporary arrangement. The Bible says this about marriage: "'This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.' Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together" (Mark 10:7-9, NLT).
Did you know that? I truly believe if we still respected the sacredness of GOD JOINING people together and not joining THEMSELVES together calling it GOD then the world would be a better place. You have people these days changing fiancees like they change underwear and I know God CAN'T be pleased.
Isn't there another kind of relationship described in Scripture where a man and woman can share romantic intimacy with some physical intimacy without moving toward marriage? No. This kind of relationship does not exist in the Scriptures. What is the difference between romantic desire and romantic intimacy? Romantic desire and attraction is the feeling and desire one has when he or she is attracted to someone of the opposite sex. Romantic intimacy is when those desires are expressed and shared with someone else with the same desires through dating experiences that develop a romantic closeness usually with some physical intimacy expressed. Where does romantic intimacy fit into these relationships God has described? The purpose for romantic intimacy and romantic expression is for marriage and that is where it is to come into full bloom. It is like a flower bud that exists before marriage and is only opened up in a full way when it is time for it to bloom (in marriage). Why? Romantic intimacy involves the most fragile part of our being - our hearts. Once our feelings are expressed and shared, the deepest part of us becomes vulnerable to another.
Song of Songs 4:9 describes the vulnerability of expressing romantic desire to another when it says "You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes..." When romantic desire and attraction are expressed and reciprocated it "steals the heart" and makes it vulnerable. Without the commitment and resultant security of marriage, our hearts can easily be crushed.
The bride of Solomon in the Song of Songs celebrates the unity of romantic and physical intimacy as she proclaims in 1:2 "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth - for your love is more delightful than wine." The Hebrew word translated "love" in that verse is literally "lovemaking," showing love sexually.
In God's beautiful plan for man and woman, romantic intimacy and physical intimacy come to full expression together only within the protective bond of marriage.
I say all of this to say: SEEK YE FIRST the kingdom of GOD and his righteousness and I guarantee you my GOD will bless your obedience. My beloved brother said profoundly once that had he obeyed GOD the first time he would have come in into DESTINY sooner. God is the matchmaker, stop trying to live up to the worlds foolish standards people of GOD...Stand UP!
Blessings til next time!
