Become the Person You Want To Marry
Valentine’s Day was last month and you’re still reading the single’s column. I guess that means you didn’t get engaged over the holiday. Me neither! I’ve been re-listening to a sermon series from my church called "Love-ology" – a study from the Scriptures on what God has to say on love, sexuality and marriage.
Back | Print Page | RSS | Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Valentine's Day was last month and you're still reading the single's column. I guess that means you didn't get engaged over the holiday. Me neither! I’ve been re-listening to a sermon series from my church called "Love-ology" – a study from the Scriptures on what God has to say on love, sexuality and marriage.
One thing that I appreciate about John Mark is that he's blunt. This sermon was no exception. Within the first five minutes he laid out a provocative thought – instead of just looking for quality in a boyfriend/girlfriend, be quality.
The idea certainly isn't glamorous but it is practical. After all, marriages and relationships take two people and neither one of them will be perfect. People are flawed going into marriages and remain flawed. A lasting marriage takes a lot of love, sacrifice and maturity.
For the next hour and a half, the audience was silent as he talked about the marks of a Godly (and thus marriage-material) man and woman. Instead of focusing on cultural norms and gender roles, he pulled out specifics from the story of Isaac and Rebecca in Genesis. For men, it meant being a spiritual leader, provider, and protector. For the women, it meant supporting the man emotionally, backing him up even when he fails and being his helpmeet instead of his nag. Like many of John Mark’s sermons, it was controversial and hard-hitting. The room was silent while he talked, hundreds of young singles listening eagerly and taking notes. Witnesses to the failed marriages of family and friends, no one wants to end up as another divorce statistic so they listened hungrily.
When I went through his list of attributes, I found myself lacking in some of the areas and that worried me. I started to take a long look at my life and decide what needed to be cut out and what needed to be encouraged to grow. It’s challenging, there’s no doubt about it. Growth is painful and there’s usually a fair amount of pruning involved. That’s when maturity has to happen; we can’t all live like Peter Pan. We have to grow up sometime.
Make your own list of traits that you want in a spouse. Are you describing a real person or a robot programmed to fit your whims? Be honest with yourself. Define the character traits that are important to you, for example: kind, financially stable, honest, etc. Then, practice being kind yourself, start budgeting, make honesty a priority, etc. Become the type of person you want to marry.
By: Caitlin Muir
Back | Print Page | RSS | Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Caitlin is a freelance writer. When she's not writing, she's working on having adventures so someone can write a thick biography about her. She can be found online at www.CaitlinMuir.wordpress.com or on Twitter as @scribblinghappy.
