SHE LOOKED HIM right in the eyes and said, “I want a divorce, the romance is gone out of our marriage…
The terms “romance” and “love” are so nebulous to the average person, the court dockets are loaded with divorce evil. Divorce is seldom considered in some Asian cultures. A young man in Hong Kong told some preachers that he did not see his bride until he met her at the altar. Their parents had contracted the marriage when they were children. When asked, what about “falling in love” and “romance” he said, “That is your problem in America. Americans look upon marriage as a romance–we look upon it as a commitment.”
Our generation has been fed a steady diet of romance. In the movies and on TV we are told that a happy marriage is predicated on falling in love. When couples wake up some morning and find marriage has commitments and responsibilities they are disgusted and disillusioned. They find out that marriage is made up of carrying out the garbage, changing diapers, trying to make house payments, and dealing with inlaws and outlaws.
Marriage is a commitment. Falling in love and romance are great if they are understood and practiced in the right context. Movies and TV are a mighty poor place to learn to about life-long marriage. Ward Hargland
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:25-33
–Mike Benson