Faith

A tricky thing, whether you’re single or dating, is the temptation to compare your life, status or relationship with other people’s. Whether it’s strangers on social media, influencers, people you see on the street or even family and friends, it can be easy to assume others have it better. If you want to find love, seeing happy couples beaming on romantic breaks, picture-perfect proposals and lavish gifts with captions of “my one and only” or “so blessed” can be hard to take.

The Coronavirus has affected all of our lives. For some, this pause is actually a welcome break from the craziness of regular life, whereas for others, it spells a time of uncertainty and frustration, or worse. The situation can seem hopeless and focusing on just the negative news and information, can lead to a strong temptation to give up hope and succumb to the negativity. You may be struggling at the moment because you are not able to meet up with a loved one, or perhaps date as you would like to, but, I want you to know that it is possible to have hope in the midst of all of this.

A godly dating relationship should allow both parties to grow together in their walk with God. Before social distancing, the lockdown and other restrictions, you could perhaps visit each other’s churches, attend Christian festivals together, and take part in other ways of shared fellowship, but the lockdown has changed the way we do things.

The Easter story is, above all, the story of our redemption. It reminds us of the price Jesus paid for us, to bring us back into relationship with our heavenly Father. But it is also the story of hope in the darkest of times, and of Jesus appearing, or drawing near to us when we need him the most. During the coronavirus pandemic those of us who are single can feel our alone-ness more deeply than ever. But we know that’s not the full story.

The Bible says in James 4:8, ‘Draw near to God and He will draw near to you’. I believe that in times like this, we need to draw near to God like never before. The Coronavirus situation has affected all of us in one way or the other, and some, more than others. On a personal level, I’ve had plans, some minor, and others quite major, cancelled or postponed, and there is nothing I can do about it. I’ve heard the word ‘unprecedented’ used so many times in the last few weeks that I’ve lost count. Life as we know it has changed and the future seems very uncertain for many. But, as Christians, we have hope because we serve a God that doesn’t change.

Sometimes it can seem like Christianity asks a lot of us. Yes, we get the assurance of salvation, our sins forgiven, and a wonderful relationship with Jesus, but then there’s all the extras. The lifestyle of purity, the commitment to loving community, the many, many meetings…

I was speaking with someone recently, and although they were single and trusting God to bring them their life partner at some point, they were concerned that they sometimes self-sabotage. One of the reasons they gave was that they were not usually very friendly towards the few guys they met, especially if those guys were not quite ‘their type’.

A lot can change in 20 years – especially the way people look for love. Back in the early days of the new millennium, it could take just as long to connect to the internet with dial-up as it does to create a profile. We set out with a simple idea: helping Christians meet other Christians beyond the walls of their local church. Since then thousands of couples have met through Christian Connection, and now, as we mark turning 20, more couples than ever before are meeting online all over the world.