Guest Blog - To Kiss or Not to Kiss?!?

KISSING outside of marriage! We have so many different thoughts and ideas on this subject. As a youth pastor's wife, we have rules in our youth group. Yep, there is a NO-TOUCHY rule! When our kids come to YG we want them to focus on learning more about God, worshiping him and not on a fellow man or woman. :-) So saying that, I want to say this:

I believe that to do or not to do has to be someone's own personal conviction. That conviction can't be pushed on a young person. I believe that the standard must be purity and whether to kiss or not has to come from that. 

Some believe that you can kiss and not cross that line. Others think differently. The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 7 that it is good for a man NOT to touch a woman. The touch here is referring to a sexual touch. If your kissing is starting a fire, becoming sexual, then I believe it's "not good."

After saying all that, I recently saw this article To Kiss or Not to Kiss?!?. You can take it or leave it, but I think that the core of it has some great advice. What I like the most is that it's getting your attention off your boyfriend and onto Christ. Encouraging you to focus your intimacy on Christ instead of your guy. If you honor Him, He will honor you.  If that means saving your kisses or not, keep your eyes on Christ. 

I've started a new tradition when I speak—collecting girls' deepest questions on index cards (that way no one knows who the questions belong to). This last time it seemed nearly every girl wanted to know about kissing.

• "Is kissing guys prior to marriage okay?"
• "Your opinions on kissing before marriage.”
• "What is your viewpoint on kissing before your wedding day?”

Well, for the record, I've done it—kissed a guy before marriage. Three, actually. And we're not talking just a peck on the cheek.

I've realized God didn't love me any less when I kissed guys as a young teen, and God doesn't love me any more since I've stopped kissing guys.

However, it's been fifteen years since my last kiss. That's right. I kissed for the last time on my sixteenth birthday.

Don't cheer for me too soon, though. I stopped for all the wrong reasons.

I stopped kissing because in my mind, no kissing = "doing the God thing." I thought I'd make His VIP list 'cause of my commitment. Since then, I've realized God didn't love me any less when I kissed guys as a young teen, and God doesn't love me any more since I've stopped kissing guys.

Well, if that's true, does that mean I can just pucker up and kiss any ole' guy I want to kiss?

Nope. Romans 2:4 tells me God's grace is meant to lead me to repentance.

Today I have five very different reasons for not kissing:

• I want to "kiss the Son" (Ps. 2:12). I don't literally and physically kiss God (God is Spirit, after all). But my desire is to pursue and exalt God as my greatest treasure—to "kiss" Him through the way I think about and draw near to and obey Him.

• I know myself. Kissing just leaves a girl wanting more (at least this one!). If I date in the future, I hope to stay as far away from kissing as possible this side of the altar. I don't know that I'll make it (sounds tougher than running a marathon!), but by God's grace, I will choose to love and not lust after my boyfriend from the start.

• I'm not married yet. While I can't go back and erase my past, I can start new! I'd love to save all my kisses from sweet sixteen on for my future husband as a gift. Once (or rather "if") I marry, that'll be the time to be extravagantly generous with my kisses.

• I'm brand new (2 Cor. 5:17). God has cleaned me up and declared me holy through Jesus' righteous record. I choose to live in light of who I am. For me, this doesn't begin with staying away from kissing—it happens long before, as I control my thoughts rather than letting them control me. I don't struggle with not kissing in real life 'cause I'm not fantasizing about kissing in my thought life anymore.

• I have God's Holy Spirit living in me, which means I finally have power for holy living (yippee!). I no longer have to be controlled by my desires; I get to control my desires by tapping into the Spirit's self-control (Gal. 5:22–23). So thankful I have some help!

So dear friends, fall in love with Jesus. Set boundaries that won't lead you into sin. Don't let your desires control you, let the Holy Spirit. 

Don't label what you will and won't do. Have a heart to please God and ask Him to fill your relationship, your conversation and your plans.. Focus more on Jesus and your future with Him. - Rejoicing