Besides God’s forgiveness, there is nothing that the world needs more than people who love* each other. And there is no other place more suited to learn how to love than within the context of a Christ ordained committed marriage relationship. Not everyone in a marriage takes that opportunity, but it’s there.
This is important because most marriages include children. If you haven’t seen your parents demonstrating love towards one another while you were growing up, it is VERY difficult to adopt this characteristic as an adult.
Many in the secular world say that if a marriage is to last it’s important to “find the right person.” Jesus says that it is more important to “be” the right person. All through the New Testament we are given examples and commands on what Godly love looks like. An example is the teaching on forgiveness.
“Master, how many times should I forgive . . .”
“Forgive as your Father in heaven forgives you.”
In reality, a marriage that is working (of course this can’t and won’t happen when only one person is on board with the process) is a marriage where two people live in a perpetual state of forgiveness, as is the case when we’re in a healed and forgiven relationship with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ.
It’s my opinion that only Jesus gives us a pure example of agape love along with the power to carry it out.
* I’m not talking about the kind of love with which we ARE born capable of giving (I’ll be good to you if you be good to me first, if you make me look good, if you cause me pleasure and happiness - then I’ll “love” you). Scarlet Johansson says of her latest failed relationship, “We entered our relationship with love and it's with love and kindness we leave it.” I’m not talking about that kind of farcical nonsense. I’m talking about the kind of love with which our Creator demonstrates His love for us - the willed, desired, volitional, decision to treat another person, even our enemy, with kindness, tenderness, mercy and grace.
This is no small thing. Our planet will not survive without it.
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