PURPOSEFUL RELATIONSHIPS

    Well, here you are at our website, and from its title you have probably wondered, "What do they mean by purposeful relationships?"  In short, we believe that God created man as a relational being, and these relationships serve a purpose in God's administration and our individual lives.  A proper human being has a proper relationship with God and with others--including our spouse, family, and friends.

    This article addresses four aspects of relationship, plus a quick summary, as indicated in the following outline.  If you would like to skip ahead, click on a link to jump to that section on the page:

1. Relationship with God
2. Relationship with Our Spouse
3. Relationship with a Future Spouse (for those who are not yet married)
4. Relationship with Others
5. Summary
   

    In order to better explain the idea behind purposeful relationships, let us look at a familiar passage in Scripture:

Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'  God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:26-27, NASB)

    In the Song of Solomon the woman says, "I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me" (SS 7:10).  Many believe this is an illustration of Christ and the church or Christ and the individual believer, while others believe it simply refers to a human marriage.  However we interpret it, we see that marriage is an intimate relationship.  Within a marriage there should be desiring, joining, rejoicing, honoring, praising, and no treachery.  Many of the articles on this site are written to encourage married couples to grow in their relationship, following God's plan and desire for the husband and wife.

Relationship with a Future Spouse

    We also seek to encourage those who are not yet married to follow godly principles for gaining a spouse, so that they may honor God in both their current single and future married life.

    When we first started this website, it was called Purposeful Dating, and we have expanded it to Purposeful Relationships.  The Bible does not say a great deal about how to find a spouse, but it does have a great deal to say about how we treat others.  Certainly these principles should apply doubly to someone whom we might marry.  In our articles, we will explore various views of how to find a spouse and affirm what the Bible teaches on the subject.  The Bible certainly indicates that arranged marriages are approved by God, so long as both the husband-to-be and wife-to-be agree to the marriage (Genesis 24:57-58; 1 Corinthians 7:9, 28, 36, 39).  Unfortunately, in our world today, there is not always the proper familial oversight to find us a spouse, and we have to do the work ourselves according to the will of the Lord.

    In today's world, especially in the Western world, the manner in which couples practice "dating" is completely un-Biblical.  Many couples have sexual relations outside of marriage, they toy with each other's emotions and desires with no intention of marriage, and they act very unlovingly.  In short, they use and abuse each other.  God has given us clear commands and principles to govern our relationship with a potential spouse, and on this site we seek to encourage young men and women to live by them.  Doing so will foster deep and fulfilling relationships with God and our spouse.  We encourage everyone to study the Bible on their own to see what God says about the topic, and we will be writing more articles on the subject in the months to come.

Relationship with Others

    As we have seen, God desires us to be with Him, and our desire for our spouse is a reflection of this.  This has profound implications on our relationships with others.  The church is Christ's bride, and the church is composed of individual human beings.  The apostle Peter tells us, "The Lord... is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).  We see that God desires all to come to Him.  He desires for the church, Christ's bride, to grow.  In the book of Acts we see that people were regularly added to the church.  First, there were the disciples.  Then, on the day of Pentecost "there were added about three thousand souls... And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved." (Acts 2:41, 47).  And later, we read, "[M]any of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand" (Acts 4:4).  This number continued to increase:  "And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number" (Acts 5:14).  Jesus told His disciples, "Go... and make disciples of all the nations" (Matthew 28:19).  This command still stands.  We should constantly be desiring to bring people into the church so that we can fellowhip with them and they can fellowship with the Lord.

    Within the church, we should have the attitude of fellowship, encouragement, and building each other up.  "So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another" (Romans 14:19).  "Let love of the brethren continue" (Hebrews 13:1).  "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing" (1 Thessalonians 5:11).  "[I]f we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another" (1 John 1:7).  "[L]et us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds... encouraging one another..." (Hebrews 10:24, 25).

    Paul prescribes a wonderful picture for the church life:  "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.  Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.  Do not be wise in your own estimation.  Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.  Respect what is right in the sight of all men.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men" (Romans 12:9-18).

    Note that we are to be at peace with all men.  God calls us to a high life of love and fellowship in the church, and this should affect how we relate with everyone, whether they are inside or outside the church.

Purposeful Relationships

    As we have seen, God is a God of relationship, and He is calling us to deeper and deeper relationships.  Understanding God's purpose in our relationships will help us to have the right motives, attitudes, and actions, and this will bring us closer to our Creator and our fellow man.  It is our desire with Purposeful Relationships to "encourage one another and build up one another" (1 Thessalonians 5:11).  May all your relationships be purposeful relationships.  Thank you for fellowshipping with us!

Want to submit an article?
    If you would like to submit an article to our site, please e-mail us at siteadmin@purposefulrelationships.com with the word "ARTICLE" in the subject line.  We are happy to encourage Christian writers to share their articles about the Almighty God we serve.  Articles should be no more than 2,000 words in length.
    The legal stuff:  The author retains all copyright ownership with the understanding that permission is given to PurposefulDating.com to use in any manner deemed useful for the purposes of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and edifying other believers.  Articles are submitted with the understanding that the owners of this site may decide not to publish it for a variety of reasons, especially if it is deemed contrary to Biblical truth.  Minor alterations may also be made for spelling, grammar, and syntax errors as well as length or content.