I ended off part one by saying that I don't think God intended for any of us to go through 10 relationships and end up bringing scars into our eventual marraige. I think this naturally begs the question of "Then, what did God intend?" Yeah... that's what this post is for.
It seems that nowadays, the buzzword is "purpose"; we have "Purpose Driven Life", "One Purpose Camp" and so on. So, let me abuse the word again and say that what I think God intended for anyone to have in any relationship is a purpose. A purpose, a direction and a destination.
The Bible is all about relationships. There are so many examples of relationships in the Bible, and the ultimate one is abour God's love for His people; our relationship with Him. In every relationship there was a purpose, an ulterior motive if you will.
For example, with Jesus and His disciples, He had a purpose for them, for them to carry on His work and spread the Gospel to the world. When He met the woman at the well, His purpose was to save her and through her, the entire Samaritan town.
If you talk about romantic relationships, well, Adam and Eve; their purpose was to propogate mankind and populate the earth. David and Bathsheba, well, didn't start off right, but through their son Solomon, God built the temple.
In the context of a romantic relationship, the key question is really "where is this relationship heading?" In my own personal opinion, which many would probably disagree with, if it is not headed for marraige, then why continue?
If you are not yet in such a relationship but you do like someone, the the question should be, "Do I really see myself with this person for the rest of my life?". Sometimes, we fall for a person whom we are not even friends with, that isn't a Godly relationship, it is wild fantasy.
I ended my last post by saying that it takes two hands to clap. And yes, a BGR takes a lot of sacrifice and commitment. If you are not prepared to work through the differences, if you are not ready to give the time and commitment, if you think that it's going to be a nice bed of roses, no arguments and all, then think again.
I think some of you have read books and the word "courtship" is mentioned. Well, if you have never heard of it, it means (to me at least) to for two people (of opposite sex, to appease my brother on the tagboard) to intentionally persue a relationship which ends in marraige.
But I do think that it is within God's intent for such courtships to end not in marriage. It is not a failure, but a success. It is a Godly relationship that has brought two people closer together as friends, and that they can walk out of it with their purity intact.
This to me is what I think BGR is about. Building Godly Relationships. To find out more, 25 September 2005 Aldersgate Hall, Pentecost Methodist Church, 1.30pm. :)
