Too much icing, too little cake (2)

{This is post #2, so if you haven't read #1 - Too much, too soon - you might want to read that first.}

THE JOY OF INTIMACY IS THE REWARD OF COMMITMENT.

We've all wanted it, maybe even pursued it sinfully. Yes, I'm talking about intimacy, that feeling that we desire so much and often get impatient when we don't have it.

"Often we're pursuing intimacy for the sake of intimacy - two people getting close to each other without any real intention of making a long-term commitment," said Joshua Harris.

Guilty.

I'll say it again. The "Little Relationship Principle" is:
The joy of intimacy is the reward of commitment.

"You might say that intimacy between a man and a woman is the icing on the cake of a relationship headed toward marriage. And if we look at intimacy that way, then it becomes obvious that most of our dating relationships are all icing," said Josh.

Most of us are (or were) in the same boat that Josh described himself in as a teenager: wanting to enjoy romance before marriage, to become intimate and close with whomever we want, without even considering commitment.

"Romantic passion is sweetest when it's growing out of a relationship that's deepening in devotion," says Harris. He goes on to say, "In His [God's] plan, the personal benefits of an intimate relationsihp - emotional or sexual - are always closely linked to self-sacrificial love and commitment to another person's long-term good."

DEFRAUD!

"Pursuing intimacy without commitment awakens desires - emotional and physical - that neither person can justly meet." That is defrauding, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:6 (KJV). Pastor Stephen Olford describes defrauding as "arousing a hunger we cannot righteously satisfy."

"Intimacy without commitment, like icing without cake, can be sweet, but it ends up making us sick."

But this doesn't mean we ignore or neglect our relationships with the opposite sex. God tells us as Christians we have a built-in level of commitment to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ (1 Timothy 5:1-2). We're family!

Harris says, "The issue is whether the intimacy in your relationship is appropriate to your level of commitment."

So, if you gotten anything out of this, let it be that the joy of intimacy is the reward of commitment.

stay tuned for more...