Truth In focus
As taken from Joshua Harris’ I Kissed Dating Goodbye:
“It was finally here—Anna’s wedding day, the day she had dreamed about for months. The small, picturesque church was crowded with friends and family. Sunlight poured through the stain-glassed windows, and the gentle music of a string quartet filled the air. Anna walked down the aisle toward David. Joy surged within her. This was the moment for which she had waited so long. He gently took her hand, and they turned towards the altar.
But as the minister began to lead Anna and David through their vows, the unthinkable happened. A girl stood up in the middle of the congregation, walked quietly to the altar, and took David’s other hand. Another girl approached and stood next to the first, followed by another. Soon, a chain of six girls stood by him as he repeated his vows to Anna.
Anna felt her lip begin to quiver as tears welled up in her eyes. “Is this some kind of joke?” she whispered to David. “I’m…I’m sorry Anna,” he said, staring at the floor.
“Who are these girls, David? What is going on?” she gasped. “They’re girls from my past,” he answered sadly. “Anna, they don’t mean anything to me now…but I’ve given part of my heart to each of them.”
“I thought your heart was mine,” she said.
“It is, it is,” he pleaded. “Everything that’s left is yours.”
A tear rolled down Anna’s cheek. Then she woke up.”
Anna told Joshua Harris, the author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, in a letter, “When I awoke I felt betrayed. But, then I was struck with the sickening thoughts: How many men could line up next to me on my wedding day? How many times have I given my heart in short-term relationships? Will I have anything left to give my husband?”
As a person with having already experienced numerous relationships throughout my life, some less serious than others, this is heartbreaking. Although I haven’t gone to the extreme I am no longer an innocent vessel. And although there are girls who have managed to stay away from sexual promiscuity: Proverbs 20:9 says “Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?” Nobody is without sin. My mother has told me that God measures all sin equally. A sin is a sin. If God were sitting in the Judge stand down at your local Court, he would convict a liar the same sentence as a murderer: death. However, with Jesus Christ we are renewed. He came to be our replacement for that price. I hope someone finds peace in this, because God is a merciful God. 