Love: Pinnacle of Human and Divine Existence
Love is the pinnacle of human and divine existence, and it is with a great deal of trepidation that I begin to share my understanding of what love should be in marriage.
However, it is also clear that discussing how we can improve our marriages without discussing love is like writing about fishing and not discussing fish. After all, reading about fishing has the fundamental goal of helping the reader to catch fish.
Marriage is ultimately about love, and it is my highest hope that in some way this discussion will help you to increase love in your marriage. A marriage without love is not really a marriage; it is a prison sentence.
In the Scripture pictured above, Paul, in one of His most recognized writings, gives us a clear understanding of the value that God puts on love. (1 Cor. 13: 12-13, NIV)
This eternal and divine calling as God’s children, to love as God loves, can only be truly fulfilled through the working of God’s Holy Spirit within us. Jesus recognized this and communicated as His last message to His followers to wait to receive power before fulfilling the Gospel mandate.
This message recorded in Acts, Chapter 1, verse 8, tells us, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NIV)
Like their Lord, in fulfilling this assignment, each of His twelve apostles, with possibly the exception of John, would be called to give their life in sacrificial love to accomplish God’s plan for mankind.
We, like all followers of Christ including those who have gone before, are also called to give our lives to the Lordship of Christ. Additionally, unlike any other earthly relationship, we who are married are called to a life-long relationship and commitment that requires giving up our egocentric lives through sacrificial love to form an unbreakable bond of oneness with our wife or husband.
Dwell on this truth that your marriage relationship’s importance is far and above more important than all other relationships, including your relationship with parents, children or siblings!
Love is the pinnacle of human and divine life. Our marriage, if it is to be as God intended, is the first and primary place to manifest sacrificial love. To love as God requires needs to be instilled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and worked out in every aspect of daily life. This is how our marriages can glorify God.
Very few of us will be called to give our lives through persecution, but we are all called to love in the very situation we find ourselves, in the daily routine of living life with our spouse. We are commanded to love this way.
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Ephesians 5:31, NIV
Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children.
Titus 2:4, NIV
Sacrificial love is the love that God recognizes because that is the love that God has towards us. It is the love He demonstrated in sending His Son to give His life for us who would become His adopted children. (John 3:16)
Remember, the source of this divine love is not available in your natural self, but available through the indwelling Holy Spirit’s impartation. (See Galatians 5:22-25)
Love is the greatest of the Holy Spirit’s fruits (gifts) that are made available for us.
We hope to explore this more fully in future articles.
With love,
Ted and Esther
