Someone who is not yet a Christian is really interested in me and happy to come to church with me, and has been asking lots of questions. I’m sure God has brought him across my path for a reason. What is wrong in pursuing a relationship with or marriage to an unbeliever?
I have seen many follow this route, using various reasons and excuses. For some, it was simply carnal desire, a wish to be with someone. Sometimes they relied on the ‘testimony’ of another Christian who pursued someone who was subsequently converted. Sometimes they say that their friend is interested in religion or willing to come to church.
In some circles, church or family connections are more important than a credible profession of faith. Sometimes people take refuge in a twisted sense of ‘providence’. I am not saying that God has never had mercy on a couple that started off ‘unequally yoked’, but in almost every case there was a manifest weakening of testimony, holding back of progress, and often a lasting imbalance in the relationship.
A pastor friend, when someone in his church expresses growing doubts about Christianity, often asks, ‘And what is her name?’ Typically, such sin results not in the unbeliever being lifted up, but in the professing Christian being dragged down, and often, tragically, walking away from Christ and his people. Usually, there is much chastening involved before any blessing is secured.
