Type the word dating into your bible search tool and what comes up? Nothing. When I was single, I remember wishing there was an entire book of the bible dedicated to the topic, or at least even a chapter. But though Scriptures are filled with foundational life-changing truths, there are still some topics that are left untouched when it comes to finding a biblical perspective.

In fact, I have to chuckle to myself whenever someone asks me to give a biblical perspective on dating. Not only is there nothing said about the topic, but the concept of dating didn’t even exist in biblical times. Even today in the cultures of the Middle East, dating is a relatively new concept.

The modern-day concept of dating looked far different 2,000 years ago. The process of meeting a spouse had very little to do with compatibility and personality traits, and everything to do with family lineage and economic status. Finding a mate functioned a lot more like a bartering system than dinner and a movie. If we’re really serious about biblical dating, than our Friday night rendezvous at Starbucks would probably need to include our entire extended family, a dowry, and a couple hundred donkeys, goats, and sheep somewhere in the mix. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a pretty awkward first date to me.

Though the bible doesn’t talk directly about dating, it does speak volumes about relationships, godly interactions, and principles that can be applied to how you date. In fact, a portion of my book, True Love Dates (Zondervan, 2013), is dedicated to examining how to apply these principles to real-life situations. 1 Corinthians reminds us that no matter what it is we’re doing; it can be used as a means to glorifying God. Читать далее →