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The thrilling life that exceeds pop culture’s expectations!

I have some great news. My son got engaged Saturday to his high school sweetheart. Not only do they make a beautiful couple, but they are terrific young Christ followers who have chosen the path that God has laid before them. A path that our pop culture can’t even see it it’s rear view mirror. Pop culture has completely lost sight of the relational plane God has for our lives.

Love Story

I won’t be long before Chandler begins to hear, “what did you do that for”, “your life is officially over”, “so many girls out there a now you stuck with one”. And, there are plenty of movies and music to back this sentiment. If there is one piece of relational advice, we can take from Hollywood it’s not to take relational advice from Hollywood. I am not a big consumer of new, but a quick scan of the headlines will confirm this. I am amazed at how much our culture gobbles up books, music and movies that is the antithesis of true love and, yet every phycologist is telling us that true love is the one thing we all want to believe in. In John Eldredge’s book Epic, he describes how surprised he was as a counselor to discover that children would much rather know that their parents loved each other than that they loved them. But, of course, we need to know that love is real, that it endures, that a world of love is planned for us and waits for us, and that we can count on it. As Jesus said, Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. (John 17:24) We need to know that love lasts. The reason divorce is so devastating to children (not to mention grownups) is because it ends the story. Just like that. The past is lost. The future is uncertain. The pictures come down off the walls. Certain names are never mentioned again. The love story is over. You can’t count on anything (Eldredge, John. Epic: The Story God Is Telling (p. 26). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition). Culture starts this conversation by reminding us that 50% of all marriages end in divorce, but that means 50% live out the fearlessly intimate true love story. By the way that 50% figure is misleading. For first time marriages the number that end in divorce is more like 30 something.

For many of us, we have all heard it before. I can even remember someone saying, “oh, just wait till kids come, then it’s really over”. Like having children was just the next wave of let downs. Well, God has a plan for that too, and if you follow the directions you will be wonderfully surprised.

Fantasy Is Always Perfect

So how do you go from fantasy to reality? Someone once said to me, “fantasy is always perfect, but reality never it”. To me that’s a little like staring at the picture in the drive thru and fully expecting that’s going to be in the sack when you drive off. It’s not that reality isn’t perfect it that reality has a villain. Even the Hallmark channel has figured that out. The villain puts it all into perspective and it’s only when the villain’s true intentions are revealed that the prince jumps on his horse and carries the young farm girl from the mid-west back to his castle for a huge wedding celebration. Our story has a villain. The sooner you realize that the sooner you and the women you love can come together as one united front. God wants to see you become the heroes of you story and He has given us a guide, His word.

You Are What You Eat

The old adage, you are what you eat, comes to mind. You have got to stop consuming what pop culture is offering. In all the music and all the sitcoms and movies, sex is just physical. Just casual fun two consenting people do. But we know that’s not true. Sex is the most deeply connective act. If it isn’t true than why are there sex crimes. Why is it sexual assault, and not just assault? Some victims of sexual crimes become tilted on an axis that they never recover. No, sex is something far more than just physical. The Bible get it right and when sex is kept within the boundaries of marriage sex will be the reality that exceeds pop cultures fantasies.

Here at the podcast we say, “life is a journey, one adventure at a time”. There is nothing richer than to find a future wife that will journey with you to those adventures. It’s all in the Bible, and I would challenge you to read it daily. Also, there are some great books that will help you unpack God’s word and help you understand some of the secrets inside. I have listed two of our must reads.