Wednesday Wisdom Tip: Can Teenagers Be in love?

Today's Wisdom Tip empowers you to answer this question.

“Can teenagers be in love?”

There are a few questions that make our hearts quake.

Maybe like me, when it’s your child asking, this question is one of them.

When the teens I love have been brave enough to ask about true love, at times I’ve been too afraid to answer.

I’m scared.

Fear of the “package deal” causes me to want to skirt the issue of true love. If I tell them “yes” you can experience love when you’re young, where will it lead? What choices might they make because they are in love?

Fear is never from God, so I know my approach has been wrong. God is love (1 John 4:8). We want the young people in our lives to understand God and be drawn to His love, so let’s teach them to understand love.

What is love? 

The best place to start is with God’s definition in 1 Corinthians 13.  Real love stories played out come next.

Though far from perfect, Jacob showed love for Rachel.

In Genesis 29, his love for Rachel compels him to not talk about love, but show love.

 

#1 – He serves her. 

Before he said anything, Jacob did something. He served Rachel.

    “When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.” Genesis 29:10 

 

#2 – He waited.

In order to marry Rachel, Jacob had to wait … seven years! Because of his great love for her, the waiting was not impossible.

“So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.” Genesis 29:20 

 

 

#3 – He didn’t quit.

When making their relationship work became more than difficult, Jacob didn’t quit.

 Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.” Genesis 29:30 

 

Jacob’s actions toward Rachel line up with God’s definition of true love in 1 Corinthians 13.

So the answer to the question is yes; teenagers can be in love and they’ll know it is love when they are serving, waiting and not quitting on each other.

Does a young women in your life need a greater understanding of true love? “His Revolutionary Love: Jesus’ Radical Pursuit of You” empowers young women with the truth that only Jesus can fill the love gap in their hearts. Click here to order your copy now!

His Revolutionary Love empowers young women with the love their hearts crave ... His.

 

The winner of the Bravery Bundle from Friday’s post When Your Relationship With God Is Boring is Jadie who posted on October 16, 2015 at 1:35 pm. Congratulations, Jadie! Please send your full name and address to [email protected] and I’ll get your resources sent right out to you!

Lynn

4 Comments

  1. I never saw this or heard this way of looking at Jacob’s love for Rachel. Okay, after 4 of the children have moved on in life, I still have one 16 y.o. left to move through grace. I will bring this up when the time comes. Thank you for sharing this.

    1. Lynn Cowell says:

      I hadn’t either, Dot! I think we are so used to seeing the conniving Jacob, it can be hard to see him in a new light!

  2. Many years ago when our daughter got married one of the most special moments of the wedding was the lighting of the Unity Candle. Now normally both participants light their candles first and THEN light the unity candle from their own candles. Our daughter & soon to be son-in-law lit the MAIN candle 1st & THEN lit their respective candles from it which symbolized the ‘proper triangle’ between a couple in love. God is at the top… HE’S FIRST in their lives. In other words the woman and the man have a relationship with GOD first, let HIM bring them together, have a relationship that honors HIM and THEN their candles are lit by HIS fire & ONLY then can they rightfully light each of theirs in the fellowship of marriage.

    I’d never see it done that way before and haven’t since. But what a BEAUTIFUL way to display the ‘right’ way for love between a woman and man to be demonstrated!

    1. Lynn Cowell says:

      Wow, Joanne! That is really cool!

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