Just a Little Closer….
Subtle, sweet and unassuming, so it begins. The heart is pure and intent on righteousness. Desires for godly things are intact as always. She is involved in church and serving in several capacities. Everyone knows her to be sincere and committed.
As time goes on, she fellowships with her usual core of friends and even a few new ones have dropped in the circle of close friends. Their fellowship is usually decorated with arguments about social issues and trends. After a while the arguments vacillate between logical modern thinking and foundational Bible principles, but usually rest on each following his or her personal conviction. April feels uncomfortable with these conclusions, but withholds so as not to be labelled “too spiritual.” After all, her friends explain that the Bible was relevant on certain issues for the time and culture it was written in. However, this a different time.
April does not believe this theory entirely and knows that there are some things that the Holy Spirit checks her on. Still there are mentally foggy moments when she struggles to locate the truth: the truth about her singleness, and the phrase erroneously accredited to the Bible, “God helps those who help themselves.”
When April and David discovered they were the only two young persons to have joined the company for years, they found common ground. They looked out for each and tried scheduling their lunch break at the same time. David’s sense of humor was more than enough to lighten the stress of the job and besides, he was quite a conversationalist. April was always the one reminding him that they needed to get back to work. They both worked in the field and beyond office hours. It was only natural for them to form a bond. He fitted in seamlessly with her friends, although he was not a Christian. Eventually, David mustered up the courage to tell her how he feels about her. Though she blushed profusely, she welcomed the outpouring of love and affirmation.
Weeks later as they sat at lunch, April exposed even more of her heart to David and shared with him her pledge of purity. David was stunned and clammed up. He questioned her a little but mostly listened intently. This time David was the first to mention that it was time to return to work. An airy silence was wedged between them and April could not understand it. She pushed for answers but received more and more excuses. Eventually, David told April on the phone that their relationship could not work, since he is young and was not up for a celibate lifestyle. “One of us has to change and it’s not me April.”
April was bowled over. To keep David she would have to compromise. The boundary stone placed in her heart after pledging purity could not be moved.
In her brokenness… April realised that her compromise started from not standing up for righteousness unashamedly with her “Christian” friends.
“Faith comes by hearing…” So what you lend your ears to will form your beliefs or shake them. April could never have seen herself dating an unsaved guy. She was surprised at how easily she slid into this relationship. April began spending more time in prayer and reading her Bible where she re-established her standards and the value she placed on GOD’s word. Seeing David in the office was a challenge at first but also a reminder of how easy it is to drift once we take our eyes off GOD. April decided to embrace her title as “too spiritual” among her friends as she defends the infallible Word of GOD.