How could accepting Christ make my heart feel so mended, but letting go of him make me feel so broken?
Have you ever had feelings for a person or been in a relationship with someone that you knew you shouldn't be? When you give your life to Christ, you are committing to living a life for Him. The moment you decide to make the change from death to life, you decide to rid yourself of anything that is not going to bring you closer to the Lord. This is obviously a big struggle for us.
When I first gave my heart to Christ, I realized just how much I needed to change, but the last thing I wanted to let go of was my boyfriend (Let’s call him David). I had been in a relationship with David for quite some time, but I knew he was not good for me. When I got saved, he was not understanding of my decision to change my lifestyle and live for God. David claimed Christianity, but he did not live it. He was into drinking, cussing and a lot of things that were not influencing either of us in a positive or godly way. As a young girl who thought I had something good, I stuck around. I kept hoping and praying for him to love me enough to change, but he didn't. My love for David would not change him; just like your love for someone won’t change them either. We can't play God in our relationships.
God’s love is the only love that can truly change someone’s heart. While praying for David to find the Lord and change his ways was a great thing, I was dragging myself down with the negative influences I was allowing to get in the way of my walk with Christ. Like Galatians 6:1 says, if someone is living in sin, we, as Christians, should gently restore them, but we must also be aware that we could be tempted. I knew that what David was doing was wrong, and I tried to make him aware of that; but I was also tempted to resort back to the lifestyle I lived before Christ. David attempted to push me to make exceptions in our relationship which would hinder my relationship with God. Whether or not we, as Christians, give in to the temptation, the constant pressure to compromise our values is detrimental to our walk with Christ. Anyone who continues to push us to a place where we feel uncomfortable does not respect us or our pursuit of holiness.
As Christians, it is our duty to witness to the lost and the ones who have been led astray, but this is best done in the context of a friendship, rather than a romantic relationship. In a romantic relationship, you give a person a piece of your heart. Giving your heart to someone who is not letting Christ lead them will only lead you to disappointment. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have in the darkness?” Being with someone who is on a different path than you is just going to bring you down. The ultimate goal for us, as Christians, is to glorify God in all we do. Being with a person who glorifies worldly pleasures rather than God will only cause you to conform to the things you are against.
When we decide to follow Christ, we are deciding to allow Him to transform our hearts. Transformation requires sacrifice. Sometimes sacrifice is giving up someone you love. Even though you may feel like you cannot go on without that person, you can't put someone over the One who has created you, the One you have committed to live for.
