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July 12, 2008

Marriage Before Love

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READ: Genesis 24:61-67

Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun. —Ecclesiastes 9:9

A man went to his pastor for counseling. In his hands were pages of complaints against his wife. After hours of uninterrupted listening, the pastor couldn’t help but ask, “If she is that bad, why did you marry her?” Immediately the man shot back, “She wasn’t like this at first!” The pastor, unable to hold back his thoughts, asked, “So, are you saying that she is like this because she’s been married to you?”

Whether or not this story is true, it does suggest an important lesson to be learned. At times, feelings toward a spouse may grow cold. But love is much more than feelings—it’s a lifelong commitment.

Although most people choose to marry only because of love, in some cultures people still get married through matchmaking. In the lives of Isaac and Rebekah recorded in the book of Genesis, love came after marriage. It says in chapter 24 that Isaac married Rebekah and then he loved her (v.67).

Biblical love is about our willingness to do what is good for another. Husbands are instructed to “love their own wives as their own bodies” (Eph. 5:28).

So, walking in obedience to the Lord, let’s keep our marriage vows to love “till death do us part.”

“For better or for worse,” we pledge,
“Through sickness and through strife”;
And by the help and grace of God
We’ll keep these vows for life. —D. De Haan

Love is more than a feeling, it’s a commitment.

Bible in One Year: 1 Corinthians 12–16; Proverbs 5:1-14