In November 2004, I blogged about a beautifully written article about what christian women can do when good friendships with guys go into the "WIERD ZONE" of "oops, i think i have feelings for you..." (cue: scary music)
anyway, was wandering back to the site and re-read the companion essay to it from a male point of view. It's quite a nice take somewhat on the same issue but with a slightly different spin which i like.
Extract from "Pursuing Love"
by John Fischer
I have discovered that what God wants us to pursue is not marriage, but love. Marriage is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end. Marriage is the servant of love. If we are pursuing marriage we are pursuing the wrong thing because love then becomes subservient to marriage. We start coming up with our own ideas of what love is. We don't allow the lord to show us and teach us, through the relationships he gives us, what love actually is. Pursue love, not marriage. This simple principle has set me free in the past few months in my relationships with my Christian sisters. Pursuing love immediately does all sorts of wonderful things. It does away with the "Is this the one?" question, because that is not so important at this point. I am learning how to minister, how to build others up, how to be friends.
My personal favourite bit is the way he concludes.
"...These principles are not only for single people but for all brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. Begin to commit yourself to relationships. Step out in faith. It involves a tremendous risk. It's a lot easier to keep everybody at a distance. But I encourage you to pursue love, in spite of your fear, and watch God set you free."
He's right....daring to go out on a limb and love others personally, openly and fearlessly....wow, i have so much lessons to learn about loving those I am uncomfortable with in that way.
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