It’s better to marry than to burn with passion. i That’s what The Bible says. It also says not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. ii So it appears to be a very foolish thing that I have done, which is that I’ve become passionate for a self-described “wannabe Christian.” iii I explained to her that if she sincerely “wanted” to believe, it would have already happened iv — I’ll help you understand The Bible; ask me anything.
I’ve met countless people who don’t believe, and plenty of them were attractive girls — what’s different about this one? She listens to me; she bothers to pick my brain, curious as to why I believe the things I do. There aren’t many people who can stand to make my acquaintance, but the few who have stuck around over the years come ever closer to understanding The Bible. I believe that if I can maintain contact, it should be possible to continue this trend. A lofty goal indeed, but well worth the effort.
In the meantime, I find myself stricken with grief. v A year is a long time to be apart, and the situation is completely in the hands of God. vi He could be punishing me for getting too comfortable in this world. vii He could also have glory and riches planned for me on earth. The most important thing is that I believe. viii Therefor, I am thankful to God for this agony. ix It has been more than seven years since I last felt this way, and the experience I have accumulated since allows me to appreciate the pain in a way that empowers and encourages. Never before have I felt more compelled to write and keep busy. The thought of letting this opportunity stagnate is a horror I cannot abide. I have never felt so alive.
- 1 Corinthians 7:
8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
- 2 Corinthians 6:
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore
“Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”
18 “I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.” - It’s fair to say that I too was a wannabe Christian when I first started taking The Bible seriously, although for me it was a weird mixture of believing The Bible is true while also thinking I wasn’t saved yet. It’s possible I was in fact saved the whole time. ^
- Matthew 7:
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
- I’ll be here listening to Willie Nelson and sobbing into the butt of a cigarette. ^
- Romans 11:
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
35 “Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. - 1 Corinthians 7:
32 But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. 34 There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. 35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.
- Mark 12:
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
- Ephesians 5:
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.