Today, as we celebrate the wedding of James and Jade at our church, our thoughts are inevitably concentrated on love. ‘Love and marriage… go together like a horse and carriage‘, the old song says, but in our modern society, that is sadly not true. Moreoever, our views of love are often very romanticised and not founded in reality or in truth.
The Bible affirms that God is love, and therefore all true love is rooted in Him. Marriage is His idea, giving love the security and stability of a covenant, founded on promises (vows) freely given. Love has many facets, however. It’s seen in the excitement of a wedding, but it’s seen also in the pain of the delivery of a child. It’s seen in the joy of celebration, but also in the grief at the graveside when we mourn the loss of a loved one. Love is not always plain sailing; there are storms to navigate in any marriage.
Michael TImmis talks about the different facets of love as he considers the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:2-23: ‘Joy is love rejoicing; peace is love at rest; patience is love waiting; kindness is love interacting; goodness is love initiating; faithfulness is love keeping its word; gentleness is love sympathising and self-control is love resisting temptation.” Our love needs to be infused with God’s love if it is to have these enduring qualities.
