DRCRE: Conditional Love or Covenant Love?

Monday, March 15, 2010

Conditional Love or Covenant Love?

A Christian marriage reflects God's love, a covenant love. God's covenant love does not depend on anything we do or don't do. God's love just is. In the same way, a Christian couple demonstrates this covenant love as they remain committed to each other during hard times. Their commitment does not depend on pleasant circumstances.

[DISCLAIMER: excerpt from Christianity.com's Encouragement For Today]

Whoever You May Be...

"You were made to be loved... and sincerely I have loved you, the thought of you, my life long given from Him and Him alone."

To my future whomever he may be,

Lately, my mind and my heart have been filled with thoughts of you and the family that we will one day share. I wonder where you are and what you are doing. Are you dating someone? Relationships have become so pressure-filled haven't they? Guys and girls alike treat dating as if they were married, expecting an instant commitment and sometimes even sleeping together. Nowadays it's easier to share your body than it is your soul. How sad that we are taught even in grade school to share our bodies with the opposite sex, but not our hearts or our souls. It's completely backwards, isn't it?

The temptations we face are real and I know how hard it can be to stay pure. I've been tempted too, but then I think of how I want our wedding night to be perfect. Maybe that's why I wanted to write you, to tell you that I am real. At some point in our future, He will let our paths cross, and we will eventually spend our lives together in marriage. It would seem a shame to go into our marriage with the baggage that past relationships bring.

That quote that I put at the top of the page- I mean it. Think about it. He, God, made you- to be loved by me- unconditionally. And that's how I promise to love you. Where you have been before today, well... that's all in the past, and that's where it should stay. Maybe you had no idea that I was here. But now you know, and how you live your life from today forward matters to me a great deal.

To a lot of people it may seem completely crazy that I'm asking you to think of our future. They'd tell you to live for the moment. I'm all for living for the present, but thinking about the future can help you avoid decisions that may alter your future- our future. I want you to experience life, travel, figure out who you are, go to the moon if you want. Take advantage of this time in your life to learn everything that you can from Him of course. That will only make our marriage stronger. Just don't jeopardize us.

Becoming a man can be difficult. Some guys try to earn their manhood by compromising their values. Sex before marriage won't make you a man. It will only serve to keep you a little boy who can't control himself. That's not the kind of guy that I want or deserve. I need a man who won't compromise his family but will put the Lord first- even before he meets me; a man whose strength lies in God alone. His virtue, his character, and his abilities must be an example at work, at play, and most importantly in our home. A real man who knows how to love completely- with his mind, heart, body and soul. That may sound like a lot to ask of you, but it will all be worth it. HE would not make us settle for anything less.

You need to know that I am waiting for you. If there is one thing that I have learned from past dating experiences, it's that you are worth waiting for. My heart, mind, soul and body, in HIS will of course, were made for you. We will complete each other in the most profoundly beautiful way imaginable.

From today forward, are you going to wait for me? Like I said, where you have been is in the past, but where you are going will affect our marriage. I need to know that you have learned self-control. I need to know that you think I am worth waiting for. I need to know that you are a man who respects and cherishes woman- all woman. The girl you are dating right now, or are going to date soon, may be someone else's future wife, and I need to know that you respect and understand that.

Real love is not a temporary feeling or emotion. Emotions and feelings change, sometimes daily. But true, unconditional love is constant. Please read this often. Think of me often. I'm thinking and praying for you. I can't wait to meet you. I can't wait to spend my life loving you.

Until then,
Your future wife

[DISCLAIMER: written by Lexa Balisalisa]

DRCRE

Monday, March 15, 2010

Conditional Love or Covenant Love?

Whoever You May Be...

since 2009.02.27