Love—the self-sacrificing lifelong joyous
commitment between a husband and wife in
marriage—this love is worth the fight.
Often the greatest things we set out
to do are also the most difficult.
Marriage is not
a mere civil thing,
but is partly spiritual
and Divine,
and therefore God alone
has the power to
appoint the beginning,
the continuance,
and the end thereof.
It is no longer your love
that sustains the marriage,
but from now on,
the marriage
that sustains your love.
To put it as bluntly as the Bible does, the Lord is as much as saying, I know you are unhappy but your unhappiness does not change your obligation to your marriage. I know you think your life would be much better if you were out of this marriage or could have another woman for your wife, but that does not in any way diminish your obligation to remain faithful to your wife…
Listen, “The Lord knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust.” He is full of a perfect sympathy for the trials and tribulations of human life. There can be no thought of his not caring for the pain caused to his children who find themselves in a loveless marriage. He wants us to be happy. But, he wants us to be holy even more!
And, the fact is, there are a great many things that are very hard to do in the Christian life but which Christians must do, come wind, come weather. No one can read the Bible and conclude that the Lord would never ask his children to suffer for his sake, to make sacrifices for his sake, even punishingly difficult sacrifices.
This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
A good marriage
is the union
of two forgivers.
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
Many a man
proclaims
his own steadfast love,
but a
faithful man
who can find?
