So you wanna date...

I've recommended it before, but had gotten a little behind in my reading, and just returned to Boundless.org today to peruse. People, check out this site. I think they have so many good and fresh things to say about how to honor God in our romantic lives. Sure, a lot of us feel that the topic of dating has been beat to death (by bashing singles over the head) in the church, but that's what I'm saying---these writers do NOT take that approach! And it's what I appreciate so much. This is more real-life stuff, talked about in a sensible and honest way from a biblical perspective.

Apparently they're starting a new series of articles on biblical dating, which will feed off of reader responses/questions. Here's an excerpt from the first article:

Basically, we can make three general statements about modern dating vs. biblical dating in terms of their respective philosophies:

1. Modern dating seems to be about "finding" the right person for me (as my friend Michael Lawrence has written on this site); biblical dating is more about "being" the right person to serve my future spouse's needs and be a God-glorifying husband or wife.

2. In modern dating, intimacy precedes commitment. In biblical dating, commitment precedes intimacy [emotional or physical].

3. The modern dating approach tells us that the way to figure out whether I want to marry someone is to act like we are married. If we like it, we make it official. If we don't, then we go through something emotionally — and probably physically — like a divorce. In biblical dating, Scripture guides us as to how to find a mate and marry, and the Bible teaches, among other things, that we should act in such a way so as not to imply a marriage-level commitment until that commitment exists before the Lord.

That, my friends, is good stuff. Can't you relate, and see it at work around us?!

SIDENOTE: Um, I have a FREE TICKET TO SEE RAY LAMONTAGNE IN CONCERT TONIGHT. Mike Cosper is, officially, awesome.