As a single woman, one of the things that you think about is what it will be like when you're married. You've read a couple of books, listened to quite a few series, and read a couple of popular blogs on the subject.
When it comes to your relationship with God, you should treat it like a marriage. Because as the church we are in fact his bride. Ephesians 5 goes into great depths on marriage, telling husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church. I encourage you to study this chapter inside and out. There is also a part that says "Carefully determine what pleases The Lord." As brides of Christ this should be at the top of our priority list.
See, when you are new in your walk with Christ or even before you started to truly follow him, you would look at being saved as having to follow a bunch of rules. Many times we associate rules with something that's constricting or just no fun. But let's treat this relationship like a true marriage. If you were married, would you imagine yourself being upset because you could no longer go out with other people? Of course not! You're married, for most of us we wouldn't even desire that! Or if your husband asked you not to put yourself in a compromising position with another man? Maybe it's just me but I would be flattered. Or if he asked you to spend a certain amount if time with him because it is crucial to your marriage lasting? Um, yes please!
So the question is why can't we give our relationship with God the same type of respect? I'll be completely transparent with you. A couple of months ago I attended a wedding as part of the bridal party. While I'm not going to speak on the subject of drinking as a Christian, I will quote Ephesians 5 where is says "Be not drunk with wine." And you guys, I really wish I had obeyed. But everyone else was "turning up" and since I was already in my feelings because here I was in this tropical place surrounded by couples being all romantic, I just felt left out and lonely. I can say that from the time my plane touched down I completely brushed off spending any real time with God. I mean I was part of the wedding and there was so much to do and not to mention I still needed to fit vacation time in there too. I had my priorities all wrong. So it's no wonder that I was easily persuaded to get drunk the day if the wedding. But that's not the worst part. I didn't remember a whole lot of that night but had to hear from my friends the next morning about how I was dancing all over these guys. I felt horrible. I felt like I had cheated on God with these men. See, I see myself as his bride. And as his bride, do you think my actions were those of a wife? I could literally feel how hurt he was. And as his bride I never want to hurt him. But if we are not spending time with him like we should, then it will be easier for us to fall into sinful situations. Because we don't feel that closeness to him, it will be like out of sight, out if mind. That's why spending time with him daily is so very vital to our relationship. It's kinda like when we hear about the pro ball players who are always cheating on their wives while they are away from home. I'm sure most of them don't start out their marriages intending to be that guy, but many of them have said that the more and more they traveled away from their family it just became easier to give in to those temptations. It's the same way God. I think back to every time I messed up and walked into sin, it was during a time when I was skimping in spending time with my king.
I challenge you to change the way you look at yourself. You may not be married, but if you are walking with God, you are his bride. You are a wife. You are so special to him. When you begin to see your relationship with God this way, it will change the way you carry yourself. I feel like wives have a certain class and air about them. There's just something special about being someone's chosen one. Well guess what? The bible says that God chose you! And as you begin to see yourself as his bride it will no longer be, "Oh I can't wear this cause I'm supposed to dress like a Christian." It will be, "I don't want to wear this because my husband doesn't want men lusting over my body" and "I don't want to wear this because I don't want to be a distraction to my brother in Christ who is trying to live right." You see, it becomes less about not doing something because you aren't "allowed," and more about letting your love for God or others influence every decision that you make.
As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. (Ephesians 5:24, 31, 32 NLT)
You are so loved!
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