Love is More Than Enough to Make a Marriage Work

In the past, I’ve fallen into the trap of believing that love alone is insufficient for a successful relationship. This viewpoint has permeated many of my previous writings, wherein I asserted the necessity for more than just love to sustain a marriage. However, recent contemplation has led me to challenge this perspective, and here’s why:

Love encompasses all that we believe we require to fortify a marriage. Love acts as the catalyst, the origin, the culmination, the framework, and the guiding principle of a marriage. Given this, how can we assert that love falls short?

In the absence of love, we are left with only self-serving ambitions and a craving for personal gratification. Love embodies sacrifice, patience, endurance, forgiveness, understanding, and all the other attributes essential for a lasting marriage.

Our misunderstanding might stem from how we define love. It’s conceivable that we’ve devalued the concept of love due to its misuse and misinterpretation. In actuality, love is encompassing and far-reaching, not something trivial. The well-known song “All You Need Is Love” captures a fundamental truth: love truly is all you need!

So, what does love entail? I prefer to define love from a potent yet simple perspective, one found in arguably the oldest written text, the Bible. In three straightforward words, the Bible encapsulates the essence of love: “God is Love.”

This phrase implies that God embodies all the attributes of love. These attributes are succinctly described in 1 Corinthians 13, verses 4 to 8. Moreover, as beings created in the image of God, we too possess the capacity to display these qualities.

Hence, it’s not a stretch to assert that you, embodying love, are all that’s necessary to cultivate a thriving marriage. By “you,” I refer to two individuals who come together in harmony, as two cannot work cohesively unless they’re in accord.

Yet, as potent as love is, it remains inert without an object for its expression. We humans lend strength to love, making it dynamic and substantial. This object of expression is none other than your spouse. After all, how else can love validate itself if not by reaching a recipient? I often assert that love is an action, consistently proving its authenticity through the manner in which it’s conveyed to the recipient – in this case, your partner. Marriage necessitates two individuals who are genuinely “in love.”

Maintaining this love involves consistently expressing your affection to your partner. And how is this achieved? Let’s refer back to 1 Corinthians 13, wherein the characteristics of love are outlined. Demonstrating patience, kindness, avoiding envy, refraining from boasting, and shunning pride, all contribute to the ongoing demonstration of love.

Continual expressions of love involve showing respect, avoiding self-centeredness, managing anger, releasing grudges, celebrating achievements, safeguarding secrets, fostering trust, nurturing hope, persevering, and above all, never ending love.

While I’ll delve into each of these characteristics in subsequent posts, for now, let’s touch upon the final point: love never ends. Failure has no place in love’s realm. If you feel you’ve faltered, remember that perseverance entails ongoing effort. Never relinquish this mindset. Successful marriages endure because their participants perceive setbacks as opportunities for growth, improvement, and reinforcement. This is the essence of love – enduring through challenges.

Thus, when two people claim to have fallen out of love, it signifies a failure to express these qualities toward one another. Love itself isn’t at fault; it is more than sufficient. The real challenge lies with the individuals involved, as it takes both to fulfill these attributes and this is the intricate aspect of it all.