We all like the idea of dating. There’s just something fun about thinking through the people we like and who might be interested in us. But what if we approached dating in a different way? What if instead of asking ourselves who we want to date, we asked ourselves why we want to date? It’s an important question because knowing why we want to date will influence how we date. And, let’s be honest. We all want to be good at dating. Believe it or not, God wants that for us, too! He wants all of our relationships—dating included—to be happy and healthy. And as we look at one of His most familiar guidelines for successful relationships, we’ll learn the most important thing we can do to be truly dateable.

Why Date?

There’s a place for face-to-face.
Technology plays a pretty big part in our relationships today. You meet someone you like, and, thanks to tools like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, you can find that person, learn all about them, and start communicating—all within a few minutes! While technology is great in a lot of ways, it has limited our ability to communicate in person. And when our communication suffers, our relationships suffer, too. The truth is, a big part of being dateable is knowing how to communicate face-to-face. Taking the time to look someone in the eye and communicate directly to them has the power to make your relationships better. The Apostle John knew just how important this kind of face-to-face communication is—so much so that he wrote about it in the Bible. And if we can apply his advice in our own lives, we’ll not only see our dating relationships improve, but all of the important relationships in our lives as well.

Anthony R. Morehead