Hebrews 12:2
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2 would be a great verse for people entering into a relationship with the intent of marriage. In this one verse, we can unpack a lot of relationship principles to make marriages grow healthy.
Here are some lessons from this verse:
- Look to Jesus.
When we fall in love, we tend to look exclusively to our partner. We become so consumed with one person that we tend to forget that there are billions of people living around us. Sadly, a lot also forget God. Some single people I know would spend time praying to God for a partner and when they get one – the first one they forget is God who gave them that partner.
Look to Jesus reminds us to put Christ center in our relationship. He is the one who will give life and sustain the relationship. As couples (dating or married), we need to fix our eyes on Jesus and let the Scripture guide us.
2. Let Jesus write your love story.
Jesus is the author, founder, and perfecter of our faith. Date with the opposite sex is a very spiritual practice. Dating is gearing towards a covenant called marriage. Thus, don’t take dating lightly. I shared in my previous blog how dating should lead to marriage. In light of this truth, we need to look at dating as a worship unto the Lord. By being aware that Jesus is the author of my life ( that might be a great song title for the next Victory Worship album), then my dating should be surrendered to Christ as well.
3. Love with Joy.
Hebrews talk about Jesus enduring the suffering at the cross because of the joy that was set before Him. The Greek word for “joy” is chara, which means “JOY RECEIVED FROM YOU” or persons who are the cause of your joy. (taken from Dating with Pure Passion, p.17)
In the midst of pain, torture, and sacrifice – Jesus felt JOY. This is the best example for LOVE HURTS. Jesus loved us so much that the joy He felt was weightier than the sacrifice and pain he was receiving.
Practically, this means that when we love – we will experience some level of pain. When somebody sins against us, breaks our trust or cheats on us. What would keep the marriage alive is not the cheesy brand of love but the love that can sacrifice and bear the pain because of the love and joy we feel for the person whom we are in a marriage covenant with.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said in a letter to his friend, “From this day forward it will not be your love that keeps your marriage alive, it will be your marriage that keeps your love alive.”
Don’t miss the back issues of my dating tip blogs:
Part 1 is here
Part 2 is here
Follow us on Instagram: Dennis Sy and Thammie Sy
Follow us on Facebook: Dennis Sy and Thammie Sy
Youtube channel: Dennis Sy TV