I know it has been quite some time since my last post was directed towards you. I am sorry about this and I hope to be more faithful in my writing you in the future.
Ok bro, I have been thinkin alot lately about the idea of dating/courting/marraige and the correlations or relationship it has to the Holy and infallable inspired word of God.
In my personal life I have recently had the priviledge of getting to know a Godly young lady. And I frequently ask myself could this be the one? How will I know if it is? And what does God think about me "dating" this girl.
Dude, let me ask you a serious question.....where in the Bible do you ever read about dating or courting? I have personally read the entire Bible and I have seen either of those words in it. Now, with that said some questions might rise to the surface. One being, are you saying dating is wrong? And my answer would be, yes I think that dating is a worldy idea and institution. One example I think of is the story in Genisis 24 when Abraham sends his servant to "take" a wife for his son Isaac from the land of his relatives. One thing you do see is that Isaac was not out lookin for girls to date and being impatient with God. You read in Gen 24:62 then when Rebekah was riding up the place that Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was in the field meditating when Rebekah rode up. He wasnt worried about no girl. He was focused on what really mattered and that is his relationship to his Father in heaven. No where throughtout scripture do we see "and so and so went out on a journey to search for a wife". Abraham sent his oldest and wisest servant out to look for his sons mate.(Gen 24:2) I dont think that was by accident either. He knew what to look for. We need to be seeking God and let God provide our wife. I've been reading in 1 Corinthian today and in chapter 7 the apostle Paul speaks to marraige and the sexual side of us. 1 Cor. 7:17 says Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has asigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.
So, to me, Paul is telling us to worry about our own self and not worry about finding a girl. Live life according to what God is leading you to do day in and day out.
Paul also states in 1 Cor. 7:27-28 "Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldy troubles, and I would spare you that." He says in v. 32-33 of that chapter "The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things. how to please his wife." So, Paul flat out says "Do not seek a wife" but, and this is the key word, IF you marry you have not sinned. That word "if" eludes to the fact that it shouldnt be something that matters the world to you. And it doesnt say you "have" to get married. I believe we have been called to be married. Because I simply dont have the self control to not be married. But the thing that I have learned from these two passages is that we cant let ourselves get caught up in the idea of finding our future wife/soul mate or whatever. We have to find all of our hope in the savior of the universe. God will you what you need when you need it.
I would like to say, I love you and I am constantly asking God to bless you and give you wisdom to teach them lil rascals down there. I am praying for your witness on your new campus and I am praying that your faith would be strong. And I am also praying that we will get to meet up soon and talk about the things of the Lord. Im praying about going to Ecuador again soon so I would appreciate you praying along with me in that. Also please pray that my faith would not waver, but that it might grow strong and take up root in the truth of the word. I pray that we would grow together in the love of the Lord. I will sign off with the words of our spiritual grandfather Paul "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus.
In the sincere Love of Christ,
Your brother Samuel
