Am I convinced of the purpose?

It may sound like a silly question but have you ever sat down to think about why you actually want to be in a relationship?

I mean, everything around us, since the days of being read fairy tales as bedtime stories, has pushed the narrative that you should be in a relationship - but why? Why do we value and esteem relationships that make it to marriage?

If you don’t know the purpose of a thing, it’s really easy to misuse and mismanage it when it falls into your lap.

Friend, you need to know your ‘why’ and you need to know God’s ‘why’. Now, I’m not a mind reader so I can’t tell you what your why is but I can tell you that your why shouldn’t be because:

• I’m ‘__’ years old
• My parents want grandchildren
• All my friends are in relationships
• I’ve reached where I want to be in my career
• I’m bored

Just because these things are common in conversation and even get vigorous nods of approval when shared with your inner circle, they cannot be the only reasons why you’re willing to commit to the search for a spouse.

So if we can’t look to the media, or to popular opinion, where can we find the purpose of marriage? Well, we can start in Genesis 1:28 where God said, “be fruitful and multiply”.

When you think about being in a relationship have you thought about how it will make you a more fruitful Christian?

Paul says to the Ephesians, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received”. Take some time to think about how you can be fruitful now and how you might be fruitful in a relationship.

Let’s pray. . . Dear God, help me to develop Christ-centred, Kingdom-focused reasons to begin dating, that are worthy of the greatness that you have called me to. Open my eyes to see and believe just how fruitful I can be when walking according to your will. I commit this season into your hands, in Jesus’ name. Amen.