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    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

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    Local Man Discovers Gift of Singleness, Calls Off Marriage*

    Get Used to Different (Part 1)

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    Local Man Discovers Gift of Singleness, Calls Off Marriage*

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    Rejoice (Part 3)

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    What God Says About Me

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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • FAITH
    • All
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    Home

    Episode 26: Election, Free Will, and Flowers

    God Is Calling YOU to Rest (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should we still listen to Hillsong?

    Easter Origin: Bunnies & Eggs?

    Before Christ Rose

    Our Misconception of the Body

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Can Christians go to multiple churches?

    The Relationship Between Frugalism and Stewardship

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Rejoice (Part 3)

    Rejoice (Part 2)

    Rejoice (Part 1)

    Broken at the Cross (Part 5)

    Broken at the Cross (Part 4)

    Broken at the Cross (Part 3)

    Broken at the Cross (Part 2)

    Broken at the Cross (Part 1)

    Manage Your Expectations?

    Keep It Short and Sweet

    How I Have Learned to Hope

  • LIVING
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    • Identity
    • Mental Health
    • Purpose
    • Work

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 1)

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 1)

    Home

    Episode 25: What’s up with the education system?

    Our Misconception of the Body

    The Relationship Between Frugalism and Stewardship

    Home

    Episode 23: Why I changed my career

    What Consumes Us (Part 2)

    What Consumes Us (Part 1)

    Jesus and Minimalism

    Glimpses of Glory

    How I Surrendered Control in My Work

    You Were(nt) Made for This Life

    Talking with Family Members About Mental Health (Part 3)

    Talking with Family Members About Mental Health (Part 2)

    Talking with Family Members About Mental Health (Part 1)

    As You Are (Part 2)

    You Are Enough

    As You Are (Part 1)

    What God Says About Me

    How Do We Submit in a World That Doesn’t

  • RELATIONSHIPS
    • All
    • Church
    • Dating
    • Family
    • Marriage
    • Singleness

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 1)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Can a Christian date a non-Christian, then convert him/her?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should we still listen to Hillsong?

    Home

    Episode 25: What’s up with the education system?

    Get Used to Different (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is cohabitation a sin?

    Before Saying “I Will”

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Need for Companionship

    Local Man Discovers Gift of Singleness, Calls Off Marriage*

    Get Used to Different (Part 1)

    Talking with Family Members About Mental Health (Part 3)

    Talking with Family Members About Mental Health (Part 2)

    Talking with Family Members About Mental Health (Part 1)

    Three Pitfalls of Accountability

    How My Heavenly Father Restored My Relationship with My Earthly Mother

    When the Church Adopts You, You Adopt the Church

    How to Embody Love to Your LGBTQIA+ Friends

    How to Embody Love to Your LGBTQIA+ Friends

    Home

    Episode 19: Christmas Special – Recovering the meaning of the season

    Home

    Episode 18: Does my family background really affect me? // How do we blaspheme the Spirit?

  • CULTURE
    • All
    • Evangelism
    • Justice
    • Social issues

    Ethical Consumerism

    Easter Origin: Bunnies & Eggs?

    Get Used to Different (Part 2)

    Home

    Episode 24: All about Crypto, NFTs, and the Church

    What Consumes Us (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should Christians go to war?

    Home

    Episode 22: Enneagram Part Two

    What Consumes Us (Part 1)

    Jesus and Minimalism

    Home

    Episode 21: Enneagram Part One

    Get Used to Different (Part 1)

    Christian Cancel Culture: A Gospel for the Oppressors

    Christian Cancel Culture: A Gospel for the Oppressors

    Your Calling to Bring Shalom into a Deprived World

    Your Calling to Bring Shalom into a Deprived World

    Welcome to Shift Gear

    READY? SET… GO!

    READY? SET… GO!

    Home

    Episode 16: Cage homes and subdivided apartments, is this the reality of HK? // Ask Martin: Why does God elect some not to believe?

    Home

    Episode 14: How should we engage on social media? // Ask Martin: Would God’ve been more loving if He didn’t create anyone?

    Home

    Episode 12: So you want me to submit?? // Ask Martin: Why does God allow evil in the world?

    Home

    Episode 10: Cancel Culture: Should the church reject or accept it?

    Home

    Episode 3: Why the need for global missions when there are local needs?

  • CREATIVE
    • All
    • Fiction
    • Inspiration
    • Poem
    • Satire

    Local Man Discovers Gift of Singleness, Calls Off Marriage*

    Why

    In The Whisper, pt2

    How Do I Get Inspired?

    Rejoice (Part 3)

    Rejoice (Part 2)

    Rejoice (Part 1)

    Loss

    Celebrating Creativity

    Baptism Numbers Skyrocket After Installation of Waterslide in Local Church*

    What God Says About Me

    In The Whisper

    Reppin’ Jesus on Social Media – How to Stay True in a World of Haters

  • PODCAST
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Before Saying “I Will”

Sasha Lo by Sasha Lo
May 20, 2022
in Marriage, Singleness
0

As the live band played Lauv’s “I like me better when I’m with you”, I watched my newlywed friends have their first dance surrounded by friends and family.

One of the big cultural differences I’ve experienced whilst in England is that there are many Christian couples who get married young. I’m currently 22 and this is the second wedding season I’ve experienced where my own friends are getting married. My! Own! Friends! Friends that I attended freshmen weeks with, moved out of student accommodations with, and proofread each other’s dissertations with over endless cups of tea.

In a time where we can regularly expose ourselves to romanticised, minute-long wedding videos of people dancing, celebrating, confetti-throwing and the like, it’s easy to get caught up in the fairytale lots of us have been dreaming of and feeding into since we were children. It’s easy to question God when he will grant you ‘your turn’.

Even though weddings are a great joy, society and culture have changed our perception of God’s true intention for marriage. As much as weddings celebrate joyful partnership, they need to be seen as solemn and holy occasions, too. Instead of “I do”, many of my friends have opted for traditional vows that answer with “with God’s help, I will”. The slight change in phrasing of “I do” (present) to “I will” (future) reminded me that marriage is about the future covenantal relationship that lasts beyond the vows said at the altar. Marriage isn’t the end goal for an intimate romantic connection, but merely the beginning of a life of commitment to endlessly champion and fight for yourselves as you together are now one. Marriage is only a small, imperfect image of God’s covenant with us – eternal and unconditional.

 

The slight change in phrasing of “I do” (present) to “I will” (future) reminded me that marriage is about the future covenantal relationship that lasts beyond the vows said at the altar. Marriage isn’t the end goal for an intimate romantic connection, but merely the beginning of a life of commitment to endlessly champion and fight for yourselves as you together are now one.

 

This wedding season has brought me immense peace and assurance. I am assured that God knows my desires and my heart, that He fully knows and fully loves me because that is how He created me (Psalm 139). I am assured that even through my doubts, the companionship and intimacy I am longing for is first of all found in Him, and marriage will not solve the yearning in my heart. I can trust that He withholds nothing (Psalm 84.11) and that He is still sanctifying me, with or without someone next to me. (Click here to read “What God Says About Me”.)

 

I am assured that God knows my desires and my heart, that He fully knows and fully loves me because that is how He created me (Psalm 139).

 

Before we dream of the companionship, the rings and the celebrations, I urge you to self-assess whether you feel ready to consider that step. Are we men who are ready to provide, protect and take responsibility for your life, the life of another and the family you will build? Are we women that are ready to breathe life, nourish and support your partner to build a flourishing home?

I hope this short reflection will encourage those who are single to consider the full weight of the commitment of marriage.

——

For your continued pursuit:

  • “The Mingling of Souls”, by Matt Chandler
  • “The Meaning of Marriage”, by Tim Keller
Sasha Lo

Sasha Lo

Final year student midwife at the University of Leeds. Loves the water and believes that therapy is the greatest act of self care. // Favorite author: Jeff Bethke

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