Real Love And Marriage

 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." Ephesians 5:31-33

Last night in our home Bible study group we learned about God's great love for us and His commitment to us based on love. And I thought how in wisdom God gave us an example of what real love is by giving us marriage. In a marriage bond we experience the best in human satisfaction. The security and the acceptance and the confidence that comes from true love.

I believe that God loves me because it says so in the Bible. We believe by faith, not because we were there when they crucified the Lord. Faith is taking God at His word. Faith is acting on the basis of what the Bible says. Church is an example of how Heaven will be. 

Marriage is a legal contract. You say I will, and then you sign the license. You do not think about the legality of marriage at the time. But in time things will happen to bring that legal aspect to the forefront. I know a man who was living with a woman without getting married. She died and he had to buy her house to legally continue to live in it. When my wife died I was legally allowed to keep everything we had accumulated in 40 years because we were married.

Love is emotional, but it is deeper than emotions. People try to keep the physical aspects of love alive and fail to understand that marriage is more than sex. If your marriage is only physical you will not last. Seven years is the standard length of sex focused marriages. Sex in marriage is the icing on the cake, but it is not the whole cake. Good marriages illustrate Christ's love for the church. Does your marriage show us how much Jesus loves us? Does your marriage illustrate what commitment and adjustment look like?

Marriage is not salvation. You must repent and believe to be saved. But Christian marriage is profound and satisfying and comfortable. God said that it was not good for the man to be alone. We prove the wisdom of those words every day.