The Next Year of Your MarriageSample

Because God loves me, I promise to love you unconditionally

They had been married less than a year. She stood by him as he battled some addictions early in their marriage, but when he began to see victory in that battle, he changed. 

He said he loved her when they married, but he was a different person now. He wanted to discover? who this new person was, and unfortunately he didn’t see the need to include her in his search. There was nothing she could do about it, he said. He just didn’t love her any more.

The irony is that this husband claimed to be a Christian. But obviously something was missing. Did he really understand God’s love? Did He recognize his need to demonstrate a love that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7)?

Begin this new year together in your marriage with a commitment to knowing God and His love for you. The more you understand that love, the more you will love your spouse in the same way. This is what we pledge in marriage—to love each other “till death do us part.” That means we will love each other no matter what happens, no matter how we hurt each other, and no matter how much we change.

There’s something special about knowing that the person who knows you better than anyone, and has walked with you through the ups and downs of life, also loves you unconditionally. As the Rev. Tim Keller says, “To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.”

Nothing can separate you from God and His love (Romans 8:38-39). Can your spouse say the same about you?

Discuss:

What are some ways your spouse has demonstrated unconditional love for you during the past year? How has that encouraged you?

More:

Read the following article at FamilyLife.com:

I’m Not Going Anywhere by Matt Chandler