Outdated: Find Love That Lasts When Dating Has Changed

by Jonathan "JP" Pokluda

for young adults ages twenty-five to thirty-four, cohabitation is now seventy-four times more common than it was fifty years ago. For people ages eighteen to twenty-four, it is ninety-four times more common.1 Today, about two-thirds of married couples have lived together with someone, though not necessarily their spouse, before walking down the aisle.2

two people who are both fully committed to following Christ will always have a successful marriage, because they will selflessly serve each other, consistently work together to resolve conflict, forgive each other for small offenses, and avoid intentionally doing things that will hurt the other.

we should stand out as being different from those who don’t know God, “[shining] among them like stars in the sky” (Phil. 2:15).

Don’t come up with excuses for sin. Trust that God knows and wants what is best for you.

A person’s actions over time will show what they truly believe.

habits don’t magically change when someone walks down the aisle; they are still the same person and are prone to doing the same things.

If it’s fully over, then leave no doubt. Quote Taylor Swift if you need to: “We are never, ever, ever getting back together.”

If the other person can’t tell whether you are breaking up with them or if you are just dead, that is the opposite of being clear.

The goal of life is not to avoid troubles but to glorify God in the way we handle them (1 Cor. 10:31).

When you get married, you make a promise. The promise is not that you will always be happy, or even that you will always be able to make your spouse happy. You can’t guarantee that, because you don’t have full control over it; you’d end up breaking that promise. Instead, the things you are promising are things you do have full control over: serving sacrificially, striving for oneness, and sticking with it.