Unka Glen

Anonymous asked: I really like my best guy friend and see the possibility of a future with him. I’m not sure if he has feelings for me too, but I would like to know. I’m wondering if I should tell him about my feelings. We’ve been friends for almost a year and have gotten really close over the past few months. I’m scared to ruin our friendship or make things awkward. I’m trying to be patient, but I’m scared that I will wait too long. What should I do?! 

Unka Glen answered: Cross-gender friendships can be a great way for us to learn to respect and understand the opposite sex. These friendships also tend to be short-lived. Making new friends is easy, finding a guy that you really like as a friend AND that you’d like to date, that’s something special, and not something you need to be careful about.

When it comes to relationships, there’s plenty you should be careful about. Sexual boundaries, emotional boundaries, balancing a love life and your school responsibilities, you name it. Indeed, the art of having quality Christian relationships is knowing how to manage them, and yourself, in a responsible, healthy way.

But it’s love, and desire, and a wild passion that fuels those relationships. How can you be romantic in a cautious way? How does one sensibly go about falling in love? Love is meant to be unchained and free, it’s the relationship that needs to be handled with maturity, self control, and wisdom.

All too often however, I see people in relationships that aren’t being handled in a wise way at all, and those same people are ultra-careful about their love and passions. In fact, I think many people live out their spiritual walk this way. Their heart is all locked down into something sensible, and their actual relationship with God is vague, sloppy, and all over the place. 

Love is the wind in the sails that moves the whole thing forward. Wisdom and discernment are for figuring out the right direction to steer the ship.