Christians have the great advantage of being provided the law of conducting themselves in the world and as such a manual for the proper conduct exists in the form of the Bible and the Biblical teachings are profound and rich and expected to find answers to every dilemma that we may have in our lives.

When it comes to dating, a lot of misconceptions about the dating world and especially the online dating scene  have kept many Christians away from this dynamic mode of contacting like minded people so much so that some Christians completely avoid dating owing to the skepticism surrounding the subject and the fear of the worldwide reach especially of the online dating world. Christian Dating itself has been frowned upon  in many western countries due to the misleading facts about its implications and whether it is right or wrong in the eyes of God which makes it imperative to understand what dating exactly is.

While different people, religions and races may draw different inferences from different words and interpret different meanings from various terms, it is important to understand what a particular term basically means in plain language.

So what does the term ‘dating’ mean anyway? If one were to refer to a dictionary the word dating as described in the dictionary suggests the following meaning– “an engagement or appointment especially with a person of the opposite sex or with a person with whom one has a social engagement”. Clearly, the outline of the actual meaning of dating reveals that it is only an activity of meeting each other mainly between people of the opposite sex.

With the above definition, it appears that dating while being a normal activity has somehow got a lot of negative perceptions attached to it .Basically it is a social activity between a man and a woman by appointment or by fixing a relevant date and a time. Romantic interest to have such meetings in many cases is also a distinct desire which also cannot be ignored although the definition may make a veiled mention of the same.

So why should there be any reservations amongst Christians towards the prospect of dating? The answer to this question may lie in the fact that for many people dating has meant something else altogether and  I cannot say how such meanings may have been generated. The dating definition above clearly amplifies the meaning of dating as a contact between two people akin to socializing or even better, courting. Such a regular contact has got the potential of the two meeting people to develop a mutual interest in each other which could border romance and ultimately a desire to marry.

However I suspect that dating may have assumed various connotations over the years and some people may have taken a totally different meaning out of the dating medium and the social engagement seems to have been misused for social misconduct between people leading to physical relationships , betrayal of trust and sexual  impropriety,. However I do not know how the transition from social engagement  to this abusive form of dating took place but it certainly appears to have given dating itself a bad name and raised enough eyebrows to view it with utmost suspicion.

So what are Christian singles expected to do?

Christian dating for Christian singles tends to bring up challenges about appropriate intimacy between the dating partners, maintaining a healthy relationship with Christ, respecting the word of God through your dating relationship, and following the teachings of Christ while remaining a sincere person. While some wisdom on proper dating tips and dating guidelines can be obtained from the Bible, some other advice on Christian dating comes from our elders, Christian ministry people, our parents, and even our Christian friends who can give valuable inputs.

Could God want Christians to date?

It is God’s desire that human beings should  marry and espouse procreation. God’s kingdom is intended for people i.e men and women to be physically intimate with one another and  advance in life. God seeks the best for us and all we need to do is be obedient to his word and his blessings are there for us in their sheer abundance. God knows the innermost desires of our heart and it his endeavour to grant us our wishes if they are in accordance to his word.

As  Christians it is important for us to connect and communicate with God through prayer. God may not communicate directly to us but prayer is the effective medium to converse with God and know what he has in store for us. As Christians we must therefore seek God’s intervention to reveal to us the appropriate time in our life when we are called to date another Christian single. God through his own way will provide the right answer on whether you are ready to date and even inspire you about who your dating partner should be. Living by God’s principles is the key to success in dating and if you seek God’s guidance, in his bountifully merciful way he will guide you by the hand.

While there is no mention of Dating as a word in the Bible, it is important to know that God wants us to connect with other Christian singles to procreate and preach his word far and wide. As such all we need to understand is that we need to conduct ourselves properly and have clean intentions about our dating partner. Our body is the temple of God and we should never lose sight of that thought . Respecting our partner is respecting God and if we do this as Christians we can be proud of our conduct and dating as an activity becomes  a natural process with the intention to procreate.

It is the plan of God that man and woman have to come together as one. And he has already chosen our partner for us. All we need to do is to assist ourselves with our own conduct to find that partner. So dating is just another medium in that direction and we need to therefore give the word “dating” back its original meaning – ” an engagement or appointment especially with a person of the opposite sex or with a person with whom one has a social engagement- often out of a romantic interest”

Surely this is the best way to develop a friendship and take it forward in  a positive manner and if dating reclaims its original meaning as stated above then the suspicion towards dating is bound to diminish and people are bound to credit it with creation of beautiful families rather than broken hearts. It is therefore important for Christian dating people to re-invigorate themselves and re-invent the meaning of dating to develop good alliances from which feelings, of  romance, love and marriage can fructify.