On Wednesday night I'm sure everybody thought "oh great not this again," when Scott announced he was going to speak about purity. Staying pure is something that is beaten into every teenager since they start the 7th grade. But ironically enough, no matter how many times I've heard it, I was actually excited about what he had to say. You see, I'm reading this book called When God Writes Your Love Story by Eric and Leslie Ludy that tied into what he was speaking about. Despite the cheesy title, this book is incredible and has sort of put things in a different perspective for me. Instead of going on and on about why it is wrong to have sex before marriage, this book's main emphasis is put on completely trusting God with everything. It's about becoming consumed with Christ and not just the thought of having a boyfriend or getting married. It's also about trusting that if you are meant to get married, God will provide you with someone who (in the words of one of my favorite Sunday school teachers ever, Paula Heath) "with them, you become closer to God and further His kingdom better than you could alone." Another thing that this book specifically points out is to start thinking about your future spouse right now and living a life that will honor them as well as the Lord. When I broke up with my boyfriend a while back, people would ask what happened and when I would explain that I had prayed and thought about it a lot and just didn't feel like he was the person I was going to marry, most people either laughed or were seriously confused. I thought I was crazy for a little while. Needless to say, reading this book has been a huge relief.
Now you may be thinking the same thing. "You're only 18. Aren't you a little young to be thinking about marriage right now?" Yeah, I've gotten that a few times. Seriously though, I don't see anything wrong with thinking about my future husband and praying for him now. When I meet him and can say that, I think that question will just answer itself.
I was planning on ending this with a quote or two from the book but I like too many of them so I'm actually ending this with five quotes (five really good quotes).
"It means being far more consumed with honoring God and your future spouse than with fulfilling the demands of your selfish desires. Paul tells us that if we walk in the spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh"
"But when two people are fully surrendered to Jesus Christ and consumed with loving and honoring Him with every breath they take, it sets the stage for a romance that rivals the fairy tales."
"Rather, purity was a lifestyle. It meant living to love and honor my future husband all the days of my life--with my thoughts, my actions, my words, my emotions, and my body."
"God is in the business of making all things new. All we must do is turn and, by His grace, walk a different direction."
"If we really are after the beautiful side of love, the version of romance that would make Hollywood's collective chin drip to the floor, then we need to pursue becoming a lover like the Great Lover Himself. We need to seek to reflect the goodness of our great God."
No comments:
Post a Comment