When my husband whispers sweet words in my ear, writes me love notes, or brings me flowers, I completely melt. When he holds me, wipes my tears, and sacrifices himself to put me first, I fall more and more in love with the man I married. I have been so blessed and humbled by him and I love him more today than I ever have.
Though I have been a married woman for nearly four years, on Valentine's Day, I always seem to go back to my single years. These days, while I revel in the romance and intimacy of marriage, my thoughts are still very much with all of you single girls. And I think you should fall in love.
I'm talking completely, passionately, crazy in love
....with Jesus.
It's become so abnormal to be in love with Jesus. It sounds foreign. A little radical. Just plain weird. But let me tell you that if you want your marriage to be all it's meant to be, fall in love with Jesus! Make Him the lover of your soul.
Do you long for a man to sweep you off your feat? To battle the dragons for you? To charge the enemy and rescue you? Fall in love with Jesus. He not only came to romance you (Hosea 2:19; Song of Solomon 2:10), but He defeated hell for you to rescue you from sin (Galatians 3:13; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
Do you desperately want a man who will wipe your tears? Who will listen to every little thing you care about? To put you above all others? Fall in love with Jesus. He collects your tears (Psalm 56:8). He cares about the smallest burden we carry (1 Peter 5:7). And He loves you enough that He sacrificed Himself for you (Ephesians 5:2).
If you're like me, you get mushy when a guy does sweet things for you. So how much more should we fall in love with Christ every day? As we open up His Word and hear all of His promises, see all of His love, and feel all of His passion for us, we should have a burning desire to pour out our lives for Him. Forever. When I read His letter to me and am reminded of His great love, His astounding grace, His tender voice calling out to me, I should do no less than fall at His feet in completely adoration! I should fall in love.
My marriage isn't without flaws. No earthly love story is perfect when it is made up of two sinners. But when those two sinners fall totally in love with Jesus, a little piece of heaven comes down. And it's beautiful.
Today, if you are single and bemoaning this day of love, let me encourage you to just fall in love! Fall totally, and deeply and radically in love with the Prince of Heaven, the Savoir, Redeemer, Friend, and Author of Love. Go fall in love with Jesus and let Him steal your heart.
Here is a link to a lovely article from Relevant Magazine about what not to say to Christian singles. You might give it a read:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/relationships/what-not-say-singles
Megan,
ReplyDeleteI disagree with parts of that article. You will never see or hear me say that marriage is not a gift or that falling in love with Jesus should somehow diminish a desire for marriage. Not so. I think marriage is, like Scripture says, honorable! My goal in writing to singles, is to encourage them to SEIZE those years to draw closer to Christ and make Him their number one source of fulfillment. I don't care what anyone says, if you aren't 100% satisfied with just Jesus, you won't be 100% satisfied with just marriage.
Just like marriage is a gift, singleness is a gift as well. The reason I talk, what appears to be, MORE about singleness is because we are conditioned to be unfulfilled UNLESS we are in a relationship. When we find joy in singleness, we find many amazing blessings. The point of your pre-marriage season is to PREPARE for marriage, not waste it away by trying to make a relationship happen. Redeem the time. :) There is joy in waiting, just like there is joy in becoming one with your spouse. :)
http://wherejoyis.blogspot.com/2013/06/things-you-shouldnt-say-to-single-girl.html
As a single woman in my 30s there are obviously times of struggle. However when I do feel the presence of Jesus I literally don't want a husband as a distraction for me. Sometimes I read books about falling in love with Jesus from married woman and I have 2 thoughts. One is a longing to have a husband that is also totally in love with Christ.. for I wont bother with anyone else. The second thought is I feel a little sorry for them, having to squeeze in time with Jesus while raising a family and building a marriage. Over the last 2 nights alone I have spents hours with the Lord. Just him and me. We ate and we danced and we cuddled and we chatted. And as much as I do long for human intimacy I still hesitate to trade in my precious moments with the Lord. That is the true blessing of being single. If I marry or if the Lord wants me all to himself is his choice.. but because I love him so much, I just want whatever it is that He wants.
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