Christian Mingle

One of the funniest commercials on TV at the present time (at least to me) is the one for Christian Mingle, an online dating service for Christian singles. The hilarity starts with the voice over saying "Are you looking for God's perfect match for you?"

At this point, combined with the cheesy graphics, I am laughing so hard that I miss the rest of the promo. In my mind I imagine God sitting on his throne in heaven, and here are some of the conversations He is having with the cloud of witnesses...

"Finally. I am so exhausted holding all things together, knitting people in the womb, and sanctifying the elect. It is good to have the dating habits of Christians off my plate."

"What a great idea! All this time I've been leaving spouse selection to random chance."

"How'd I ever do anything without the Internet!"

"Where's my Internet connection? Let's mess with their heads!"

Or maybe God is just exasperated because this is another stupid Christian idea. We are just as big relational suckers as the rest of the world, and it is disappointing.

We are STILL looking for that one person who completes us and makes us happy. Our mistake is trying to find another person who will give us an identity or be the source of our significance. That is a lot of pressure to heap on the shoulders of another person, and we wonder why our relationships fail at the same rate as everyone else's.

I risk sounding like I'm doling out trite spiritual advice, but I'm going to proceed anyway mainly because this is the number one mistake I made in my relationship with my wife. She was destined to fail me because God did not create her to be the fuel for my identity.

There is only one person who makes us complete - Jesus Christ. If we Christians put as much focus on rooting our identity firmly in Him as we do dreaming about the greener grass on the other side, we would not be so tempted by websites like Christian Mingle.

Marriage books containing principles for successful, godly relationships are everywhere. The principles are great. But if our motivation is to get something in return even the best principles will fail. Motivation in our marriages and dating relationship needs to come from knowing who you are in Christ. If you want to prepare for a good marriage or resurrect the one you are in, rather than pointing at the other, look at your own foundation.

If you are incomplete before the wedding, you'll be incomplete afterward.

No matter how much you mingle.