Marriage - Its Origin and Purpose

MAKING CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE A SUCCESS

"Each one of you must love his wife as he does himself, . . . the wife should have deep respect for her husband.' -Ephesians 5:33.


WHEN a groom first sees his beautiful bride on their wedding day, the couple's joy is limitless. While they were dating, their love for each other grew so much that they wanted to be married, and they thus promised to stay faithful to each other.  After their wedding, as they start their life together, they will need to make changes in order to remain united.  Jehovah, the Creator of marriage, wants each couple to have a happy and successful married life, so he has given wise advice in his Word, the Bible.  (Proverbs 18:22) Even so, the Bible tells us that imperfects humans who get married will have problems,m or "tribulation in their flesh." (1 Corinthians 7:28) How can couples minimize those problems?  And how can Christians make marriage a success?

The Bible teaches that love is an important quality.  But there are different kinds of love that couples need to show in a marriage.   For example, they need to show tender affection as well as romantic love. And if they have children, love between family member becomes even more important. But it is love based on principle that makes marriage truly successful.   The apostle Paul described this kind of love when he said:  "Each one of you must love his wife as he does himself; on the other hand, the wife should have deep respect for her husband." - Ephesians 5:33.

Next time: Marriage - Its Origin and Purpose/A CLOSER LOOK AT THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF MARRIAGE MATES

From The Watchtower magazine