In Las Vegas, February 14 is a very busy day. Why? Not just because it is Valentine's Day but also because it is the busiest marriage day of the year. Over 300 couples come to Las Vegas to be married on Valentine's Day. Sadly, Las Vegas is also a very popular place for divorces. LOVE is one of the main characteristics needed to have a long and happy relationship. Allow me to share some reasons why love is so vitally important in marriage.
Love can grow. "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails..." {1 Corinthians 13:4-8} People are in love when they get married, but in time their love takes on a whole new meaning. Love causes us to more deeply appreciate our mates and the happiness they can bring to the closest and most satisfying relationship on earth.
Love can be shared. "So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church." {Ephesians 5:29,30} When we're married, many things are better because we have someone with whom to share them. Adversity and difficulties are easier to bear because two people share the burdens. Joys are higher and more fulfilling because we share them with one who knows us better than any other. Marriage means not having to face life alone but having a mate who shares all of life's cares, pleasures, and difficulties.
Love is shown. "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." {1 John 3:18} We can tell our spouses we love them every day, but nothing makes those words more meaningful that the things we do to express that love. We say kind and thoughtful words of thanks and offer appreciation for the little things our mates do and for the happiness they bring to our lives because they are part of them. Love not put into practice is of little value. Husbands and wives need to constantly be doing things to express their love for one another and keep the fire burning.
Love lasts beyond death. "For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband." {Romans 7:2} Death severs the marriage bond, but it cannot sever the love that exists between a husband and wife. We've all witnessed the emptiness felt by a surviving mate after his or her spouse dies. Memories of days spent together never die they just grow more precious. If you and your mate don't share this type of love, work on your marriage. You're missing one of God's great blessings. (KMG)