Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or
boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not
irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with
the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and
endures all things.
Recently I have watched a few news programs in which they spoke about how long marriages endure. In these news pieces the couples stated that friendship was the key to their long lasting relationships. The one thing missing from these programs was love, it was never mentioned.
Personally, the word endure
makes me think of something that you have to put up with. The Webster’s
dictionary defines enduring as:
·
To continue to exist in the same state or
condition
·
To experience (pain or suffering) for a long
time
·
To deal with or accept (something unpleasant)
Beloved, long lasting
marriages take work, and yes, painful situations do occur in marriages. In
marriage ceremonies the 1 Corinthians 13 passage is often used, because it describes
what love is and what love isn’t. Yes, friendship is an essential key to long
marriages, but that it only half of the long-term relationship equation.
The other half of the
marriage relationship is based on loved in the relationship. For love to be
present in lasting relationships; we must first have a relationship with God,
the Creator of love. When we are in a loving relationship with God, we learn
how to love God, ourselves and our spouses.
The 1 Corinthians
passage tells us that love endures all things, not friendship. My friends, if
we have love in our marriage relationships, then friendship will always be
present.
My prayer for you today
is that your marriage be in relationship with God, and each other. In this way
the definition of endure will be:
To
continue on in the condition of love
To experience love for a
long time
To
deal with our accept all things in love
May you endure in the
love of God and one another in your marriages today my friends
