Should Christians date?

I once heard someone say that people should get married to date. This is a whole another concept that plays into the structure and meaning of marriage, but I won’t get into that. Men tend to date and “win” their partner and eventually (hopefully) will get married. After marriage, the dating stops and life seems of all of sudden boring and unsatisfying. I guess after the conquest is over there is no need to follow and keep the excitement going. Wrong! This is when marriage should be striving to succeed to it’s fullest.

Unfortunately the world has this twisted and perversed. Now a days people date who ever they want, have sex, and the results are innocent children being abused, abandoned, and aborted. Today people date to have a good time and enjoy sexual immorality (Ephesians 3:19) Whatever happen to good moral values? The numbers of teens getting pregnant are increasing by the thousands everyday. Such a tragic result from the effects of sin.

Marriage is a beautiful thing, when done right. Such examples include Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, and many others. Marriage is God’s blessing for humanity. God established marriage between a man and woman. This honors and glorifies God. Purity is a key ingredient to a successful marriage. Now dating is not bad, as long as there are stipulations, boundaries and purity.

Matter of fact is that the Bible does not talk about the act of dating or recommend it at all. Specially when it comes to a Christian dating an unbeliever. These are two unequal yokes. God forbids, warns, and exhorts us to run away from these worldly passions and desires which lead us into temptation and sin (Titus 2:12).

A better way of putting it is God does not want us to look for some type of “emotions”. Rather seek to find the true love found only in God (1 John 3:9-10) and trust Him that He will provide the perfect match. God is the divine match maker! The person he selects is the perfect partner to carry out the purposes and plans of God through marriage and family.

Marriage is an institution established by God and for God that should strive with love, faith, harmony, and hope. All of this can only happen in and through God and when we take decisions that are based and according to His good and perfect will.