Marriage...Worth Waiting For

I read this quote from Matt Chandler today:
"Can I say something to young ladies here? I'm trying to pick my words carefully here. Your husband, whoever he is, single ladies, will have an unbelievable amount of influence over your sons and daughters in regards to spiritual things. If you want your children to love Jesus deeply, hold out for a man that is godly. And let me tell you this: I am well aware that Godly men are rare. Lots of neat Christian boys, not a lot of Godly men. And we're working our tails off for you to try to develop some into that. But don't settle, because it's better that you be lonely now than you be married and lonely later. Are you tracking with me? It is better that you be lonely now than for you to get married to a man that will teach your kids everything but the way of Jesus."
This post is mostly aimed towards my single young lady readers. However, I do have a few words to say to the men reading this post.

This stood out to me, being a single young lady myself. Sometimes as girls we can be so anxious to start a relationship, or to be loved by a man, that we throw ourselves at the first "good Christian guy" that comes along. Can I tell you girls, that the term "good Christian guy" is so easy for a guy to obtain? Basically, if he is a Christian, and goes to church, possibly doesn't smoke, drink, or have tattoos, we think that this automatically qualifies him as a "good Christian guy". I'm sorry girls, but if those are the only good things you have to say about a guy, is he really worth it? Is he worth losing pieces of your heart over if the relationship doesn't work out? Is that the kind of man that you want to have an influence on your children's spiritual life?

For me, I want a man who is going to be a strong Spiritual leader. Someone who loves the Lord with all his heart. Someone who loves to spend time talking to the Lord. Someone who loves to spend time reading the Word. Someone who loves to talk about the Lord, and starts up Spiritual conversations. Someone who has a heart for leading others to the Lord. That is the kind of man that you should want to be the father of your children. A man who demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit in his life: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, meekness, faith, and self-control. Girls, don't throw yourself at the first guy that shows any interest in you. Wait out patiently, and examine the character and the Spiritual life of this young man before even thinking about entering a relationship. And another word of caution: watch for signs of anger in the man. Usually anger and lust are connected. If a man is angry, he probably has problems with lust. If he is a lustful man, he probably has problems with anger.

It is most definitely worth waiting for the right guy to come along. This decision will affect the rest of your life. So this is my word of exhortation to you single young ladies: start praying for your future husband. He's out there. God knows who he is. I think that sometimes men stay in the "good Christian guy" category because we are not doing our job of praying for them to rise up to be a Godly man, and a spiritual leader. And don't just pray for your future husband, but pray for all the Christian guys that you know, because they will also be apart of the next generation of fathers. Proverbs 31:12 says "She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life." She will do her husband good all the days of HER life. Wait a minute, we are obviously not married all the days of our life. So how do we do him good now? By praying for him! I could say much more about how we can do him good, but I'll leave it at that. Pray for him to grow to love the Lord more each day. Pray for him to have discernment between the things of the world, and the things of God. Pray for him to be refined as fine silver. Pray that he will set his eyes on Jesus. Pray that the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in his life. Pray that he will be bold for Jesus, and that God will use him to bring many souls to Jesus. This is our duty.

Guys, if you are reading this, rise up to be a Godly man that will stand in the gap. Set your eyes on Jesus. Run the race that is set before you. Read your Bible. Love your Bible. Delight in the Lord. Go out and win souls for Jesus! He will lead you to just the right woman in His timing. I plead with you, rise up to be Godly men! Oh how few there are now! Let this generation of men be the generation that turns the world upside down for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!

To those of you young ladies who are waiting, and keeping yourself pure, and praying for your future husband: Well done! Go out and teach other girls to do likewise!

To those of you young men who are pursuing Christ, and seeking to love Him with your whole heart, and waiting for Him to show you just the right woman: Well done! Go out and teach and disciple other young men to do likewise!!

Well, that's all I have to say today! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you! His death covers everything!!

Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10