Most of us are called to marriage. It’s the natural design for fulfilling our drive for companionship and sexuality. A significant priority for this season of your life is preparing for and moving toward a biblical marriage. An intentional path to finding a mate recognizes God is at work, but we have a responsibility to be faithful in the process.
Step One: Seek Direction in the Christian Community
We live in a day of hyper-individualism where people feel very little sense of obligation to others. God calls us, however, to vibrant community within our families and within the body of Christ. That community is the source of much of our growth as Christians, and it’s one of the best means for meeting a potential spouse and receiving guidance and support toward marriage. Even in a day of online dating, marriage experts still consider matches made by friends, family, and churches to be among the best.
Step Two: Move Beyond Recreational Relationships
One of the clearest messages for singles in the Bible is the call to sexual purity (1 Corinthians 6:1318, Ephesians 5:3, and Colossians 3:5). Purity is proving to be a difficult challenge in a day when only a quarter of Christians are virgins when they marry. Sexual purity, however, is the primary means for intentionally moving toward marriage in a recreational relationship culture. Couples who stay sexually pure not only honor God, they also avoid much of the confusion that plagues many of today’s relationships and can push good marriages out of reach.
Step Three: Seek the Right Kind of Soulmate
The National Marriage Project found 94 percent of young adults believe the person they marry should be their soulmate first and foremost. That pursuit leaves many looking in vain for the perfect person who is specially designed to complete them.
The Bible and marriage research shows the more important “soul” mate is someone who shares your spiritual commitment. Paul writes a potential spouse “must belong to the Lord,” (1 Corinthians 7:39). One pastor put it nicely when he said singles should seek someone with whom they are able to serve God better together than apart. Christians seeking a mate who shares his or her biblical values know “all have fallen short” so there’s no sense in holding out for a perfect person. Further, they know instead of seeking someone to complete them, they are called to lay down their life for another. That makes for a much more realistic path to finding a good fit for marriage.
Step Four: Be Proactive
Living in purity and Christian community makes it easier to find a mate who shares your spiritual values, but there’s more you can do as a steward of your future marriage. Titus 2 encourages young men and women to learn from older men and women. In addition to Christian discipleship, you can ask mentors for candid feedback about how you can improve in a variety of areas to be more prepared for marriage. There’s nothing wrong with asking mentors to keep you in mind as they become aware of other singles seeking a godly spouse. Some of your best opportunities to be proactive will come out of faithful prayer. Men have distinct responsibility in proactively finding a mate. Genesis 2:24 says a man will leave his parents and cleave to his wife. Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife, finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” Notice it doesn’t say “he who stumbles over a wife” as if it is a happenstance occurrence. God calls men to seek out women of character and show leadership in pursuing marriage. Specifically, men should be willing to take the risk of rejection. No one likes to hear “no,” but it’s a risk men of faith and leadership should be willing to face.
By Kurt Bruner, The Center for Strong Families
One Step Further…
Recommended book: Sacred Search by Gary Thomas
Recommended website: www.boundless.org This website offers a free download of A Guy’s Guide to Marrying Well and A Girl’s Guide to Marry Well.