Well, maybe the title is a little dramatic, but I don't care. :)
Andy Stanley is the pastor at the church I attend here in Atlanta. (Northpoint Community Church/ Buckhead Church/Browns Bridge Community Church/ Watermarke Church) Yes I know, lots of campuses. I attended Northpoint first, but now go to Buckhead. Anyways, not important. (I apologize to those of you who go to this church and are getting a history lesson)
Andy did a series on "love, sex and dating" a few months back and it was a hard pill to swallow. It has been one of the most talked about sermons that I have heard in a while (especially with my small group). While I was definitely a part of the conversation, I realize now that I was only a partial listener of this sermon series.
At the time of the sermons, I was still in a relationship. And what I realize now is that instead of actually listening to the message and relating it to me and MY life, I listened to the message and related it to me and my current relationship. So basically I listened to what I wanted to and ignored the rest of it. Probably not the best idea.
Recently I have been thinking and thinking about this series and something (God) has been urging me to listen to it again. So over the next few days, I will be listening to the entire series again. The part that I continuously go back to is the first sermon. Link below.
http://www.northpoint.org/messages/the-new-rules-for-love-sex-and-dating"
In this sermon, one of Andy's main points is "Am I the person the person I'm looking for is looking for?" You would have to listen to the whole thing to really understand his reasoning behind this, but man did that hit me hard. 3 months ago was I the person the person I'm looking for is looking for.... no. Am I now... no.
I hope that relistening/ actually listening this time will help me start on the right foot. I know that there is a purpose in my life, and whether or not it is to meet a great guy and get married I have no idea, but as I figure all that out, I am on the path to becoming the person I need to be for myself and could be for someone else.
For those of you who are single I encourage you to listen to this series, it will make a huge change in the way your view dating and view yourself through the dating process.
We all know dating has its ups and its downs, so why not become the best person we can be throughout the process. One day, someone will be very thankful.
As John McClain (Bruce Wills) famously said in Die Hard, "Welcome to the party, pal."
ReplyDeleteI should probably keep my mouth shut (an ongoing struggle), but the one thing I would challenge about Andy's message is that it's put in a context of human relationship context... "If I work really hard on becoming the person that the person I'm looking for is looking for, then I'll be blessed with Mr./Ms. Right."
In my very real experience I learned that people, even the best people can change in the face of temptation. Feelings, beliefs, interests, values, etc can all transform, even when you do the 'right' things and 'be the person...'
But our God is a jealous God (Exo 20:1-5). He has plans for us all that are SOOOOOO much bigger than finding a great guy and getting married. So, so much bigger so don't sell yourself short. "Be the person that the person you're looking for (God) is looking for." Make Him your focus and He will take care of the rest. I know it's easy to say and much harder to live out, but God honors his promises to those who give their whole heart to Him.
You owe me some homework. It's due on Monday.