Our romantic partners are not God, but they can help us know God and express the joy of that knowledge. They can be partners in service and the discernment of God’s will.
They can help us create communities and families where others experience God’s grace through human relationships. The best relationships I know are between people who rest securely in God’s love and have nurtured the desire for God above all else–including romantic love.
They are between people who can be patient in love and who know that desire is not necessarily evil and fleeting, but that holy desire can be the backbone of a lifetime of shared service to God and others. God has not created us for relationships based on domination, hatred of our bodies and punishment of desire.
No, God set us up for joy. And when we listen to our desires, we forge relationships that are strong, honest and faithful. We discover the joy of loving ourselves, other people and God with more holy passion than we ever thought possible.
This message was adapted from, “Faith Reflections: How faith figures in finding and keeping love” by Sarah Scherschligt from the June 2006 issue of Cafe.