So, please indulge me in a little frivolity. There’s a think piece floating around the internet about how we really only fall in love with three people in our lifetime…and ‘those who make it to their third love are really the lucky ones’. Well I wanted to rework that piece for us single Christian ladies…
Can you relate? Let me know if I’ve missed any off the list…
Love #1 is your King Saul
Your first love looks the part. Perhaps you met him in your B.C. (‘before Christ’) days, or when you were young in your faith, and you recall this relationship with a mixture of fondness and recoil. He ticks all the boxes of what a partner should be like in your eyes and he has the vote of friends and perhaps even family. Essentially, your relationship looks right as far as society is concerned. But this is your first love so both you and he have a lot to learn. Inevitably you grow apart or move on, learning crucial things about yourself, and the nature of relationships.
- Takeaways: 1 Samuel 16:7
Love #2 is your John the Baptist
Your second love’s primary function is to prepare the way for the real thing. This guy seems the part spiritually speaking. He is passionate and zealous for the Kingdom and you are attracted by his intense love for God and for the unsaved. However relationally speaking, things fall apart significantly. You may find him to be emotionally unavailable or more focused on ministry than on romance. Perhaps he knows the Bible inside out but forgets to dress up for dinner – or forgets about dinner altogether, LOL! You appreciate the fact that he keeps you intellectually stimulated, but ultimately you can’t make this relationship work and you both decide to split amicably.
- Takeaways: John 1:15, 3:29-30
But then, you meet his cousin…
Love #3 is your Emmanuel
This guy is it!
He reminds you of your second love but hits the mark in every way. He possesses all the traits that attracted you to #2, but he has all the soft skills too – he is easy to talk to, warm, loving, kind and 100% into you! Sometimes, his ability to read you and to discern your needs is both amazing and frightening (John 1:47-48, Luke 5:8-9).
So how about those of us waiting on our #3?
The truth is, if you are a Christian you have found your Emmanuel…It’s Jesus! No man can ever redeem your life from the pit or heal all your soul’s diseases (Psalm 103:3-4) – even if he dares to die for you. Only Jesus’ loving sacrifice could do that.
Let’s say you meet and marry your soul-mate. At best, he could only ever be another son of David – a man after God’s heart but a sinner just like you. Your marriage would beautifully reflect a greater reality – Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:32), but it won’t exist in Heaven (Matthew 22:30).
I do however pray that you’ll meet a wonderful match with whom to practise true love.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails…
Travelling While Single 