Baseball Family #3
Dating & Redefining Running the Bases
I spend a lot of my time around students in Middle School and High School, and it has made me realize that many of them cannot wait to have relationship with someone. They go out or date beginning early in their lives. I often wonder if we ever stop to really think about what it means to date or where it can lead us in the long run. I was thinking that when I was a kid they used to talk about dating like running bases. Not to be to crude but I can remember different parts of dating and relationship by base numbers. So I thought what if we take dating and turn it into the bases of courtship and what would eventually lead to a healthy shot a great relationship for the rest of our lives. Well if you have read this far you know what is going to come at you. We are going to see how to round the bases in a healthy way.
The first thing you have to figure out is how to bat. Before you can get to a base you have to stand at the plate and swing the bat. We need to explore our character and see what is going on in our hearts before we should start dating anyone. A verse from 1 Timothy 1:5 sums it up pretty good for us. The verse reads The purpose of this command is for people to have love, a love that comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a true faith. It is important to ask ourselves why we want to date someone. The word love is thrown around about everything. Food, cars, sports teams, family and even one day someone special. But when it comes to love for another person we need to ask ourselves a couple of questions.
1. Why do I want to date them? Is it from a pure motive?
2. Have I decided how far my conscience will allow me to go physically?
3. Will I bring my faith in God and other people into the relationship?
Character is where a date should start, just like you can’t get to first base if you don’t step up to the plate first.
Communication is key if you are going to date someone. You have to talk to them to ask them out. First base is communication. We should spend some time having a talk with someone to truly find out if we want to date them. I know this may different than what we have been told about first base. But we are trying to change the whole dating thing. If you start with the physical attraction or action where can the relationship go from there? We have to start with communicating with each other. 2 Timothy 2:22 advices us to work at staying away from physical activity and instead get to know each other first. But run away from the evil young people like to do. Try hard to live right to have faith, love and peace, together with those who trust in the Lord from pure hearts.Here are some guidelines for getting a single:
1. Try talking to each other
2. Spend time around friends together
3. Don’t let your desire for a double get you thrown out at first
You need to start with communication so that you can truly begin to know each other before second base can happen.
Communication leads to connection in our lives. As we communicate with each other before dating we can then connect with each other. Finally, all of you should be in agreement, understanding each other, loving each other as family, being kind and humble. This verse in 1 Peter lets us know that connection comes when we agree to walk with each and work to understand each other. The verse tells us these things about connection:
- Be understanding about your differences
2. Treat them like family
3. Be kind and not pushy
4. Be humbled enough to be interested in them
Connection grows out of knowing each other. If we spend the time communicating then a connection can occur.
Commitment is a part of dating that needs to be entered into with a serious heart. A triple is very rare in baseball, and hard to get. Many times people hit a single and run for third. In baseball you are just out if you do that. Many times in dating we run to third base way too quickly. We jump into commitments before we connect and have only communicated a little. Commitment means what Hebrews 10:24 tells us. Let us think about each other to show love and do good deeds. Here is what commitment looks like:
1. Think of them first
2. Find a way to be there for them
3. Show it by your actions not just your words
The problem with commitment is that many times we just run for third too quickly. Take your commitment in a relationship slowly and seriously. After all we are talking about a life time together.
In baseball and love home plate is always our target. We’ll call this consummation. A fancy word for sealing our commitment with someone through the act of sex. God brought the first two people together and said this over them. So a man will leave his father and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body. The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed. When we round the bases in the right order and the right way we can enter our married lives with no shame or regrets. So how do we round the bases in the right order?
1. Live right in all areas of your life
2. Have faith that it is worth the wait
3. Realize love means waiting
4. Peace is one of the many rewards you will receive
Always remember that it is only cute to run the bases backwards in t-ball. Sex should wait until we are married. I know it totally sound old fashioned and
backwards today. The deal is that if we wait we will not have regrets later in life. 