The two that are one... (a continuation)

I wanted to address some confusion from my post from yesterday on “The two that are one.” After hearing from some people and re-reading my post I see where there is some confusion as to the emotional part of love. I was in no way intending to downplay the “feeling” of love. The feeling is vitally important, not only to the beginning of a relationship, but is foundational in its continuation as well.

We all remember that feeling. I certainly do. It is that time that you see the person across a room and your stomach gets filled with butterflies. Many people say “it was love at first sight,” and they are right. That feeling we get is love, a true part of love. If we did not have the attraction, the first feeling of love, we would never get together with anyone (biblically that is).

This feeling of love is important throughout the entire relationship. It is that walking home after a long day and seeing your spouse, cooking dinner or playing with the kids and you get that feeling, the feeling you just cannot explain, and you think to yourself “I could not imagine my life without them.” If I had to describe it, I would have to say it is like the rainbow shining with the sun after a rainy day, it is the morning dew rolling across your feet as you walk barefoot through the morning grass, it is the sound of ocean waved crashing on the shore as you sit by a fire on the beach and watch the beautiful colors of a painted sunset with your love wrapped in your arms.

This feeling is important, and will last throughout your entire marriage. It is the fuel that keeps the fire burning. This being said, without the choice of love, the choice of relationship, the choice to work through the times where the feeling may not be as strong as you would like, our marriages would fail. It is the understanding that the feeling is just that, a feeling, and as our human condition dictates, we are faulty when it comes to emotions.

To just rely on our emotions would leave us in a state of anarchy. Our emotions come and go, we feel happy then sad, joy then sorrow, love then anger. This is why the choice of Agape love is so important. It is this agape love that gets us through the times where the fires may not be burning as bright as they once use to. This is the key to a steadfast marriage. The choice to love each other with the all forgiving, never failing, completely submissive love the only comes from choosing to love our spouse with the love that God has given us. When we do this, we will truly have lasting marriages.

I hope this clarifies the thought I was espousing upon yesterday. Love is an intricate and hard thing to truly grasp. With the help of the spirit and the guidance of scripture, we can truly achieve a marriage that glorifies God and testifies to the truth of His word.