Elana asks, “When it comes to relationships, what do you think the Bible’s stand point would be on ‘holding hands’? At a young point in the relationship!”
Interesting question! The Bible has actually very few passages that deal directly with pre-marriage relationships, but there is one that I want to share with you.
Physical Contact
1 Corinthians 7:1-2, "1Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband."
This passage says that it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Therefore, it's a pleasing thing to God for a man not to touch a woman. However, this verse does not mean it is wrong to touch a woman. To explain, consider the context of the verse. The next verse includes the word "Nevertheless". The word in Greek actually means, "for this cause." So for the cause of avoiding fornication, every man is to have his own wife and vice versa. This means that though it is good to not touch a woman, it is more necessary to marry if you lack the ability to refrain from such contact. This means that physical touch isn't wrong, it's just better if you don't do it. Paul said the same thing about marriage itself. He said that it was better (if you could) to remain unmarried (1 Corinthians 7:8-9), but that nothing was wrong with marriage if you did engage in it (1 Corinthians 7:28, 7:38). From that logic I would say the following:
If you can keep physical contact within a certain, acceptable range it’s perfectly fine. It will also tell you a lot about the person. However, if you know yourself well enough to know you would lust for more and more, then do not make physical touch a central part of your relationship.
Conclusion
All relationships should be conducted in prayerful and careful consideration of the person with whom you might want to start a relationship. Relationships are incredibly important in this life and only God can make them work correctly. Always remember that final point: only God makes a relationship work. Man, like all things, has not the strength to do it correctly. The relationship of the Christian should still have God as the main priority--not the other person. The world is incorrect in promoting relationships as a sort of inescapable infatuation with another person. It's the farthest thing from the truth. God should always be the top priority in your life, and if He isn't, whatever the effort is, it will fail.
God bless,
Robert A. Rowlett