Marriage

"Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday..." - The Princess Bride

Marriage. True love. We see it portrayed countless times in many Hollywood and  Disney movies. Man meets woman. They fall in love. Then tragedy befalls them. But against all odds, love triumphs and the two become married and live happily ever after. The end. Marriage and love becomes like a fairy tail, and we wish and hope it will turn out that way. We long to fall in love. We long to find that special someone that we will spend the rest of our lives with. We long for that prince charming or Cinderella to come into our lives, whisk us off our feet, and take us to a place where the love never ends. But it all seems like a fairy tail meant for the movies. Our relationships with the opposite sex crash and burn. We face breakups and heartaches. Just when we think we have got something good, it falls apart. It all seems too good to be true. And yet, we put ourselves through the same situations time and time again, thinking we will find happiness, joy, and satisfaction in another relationship. Well, that's what the media says anyways. The media says we need to find that special someone, get married, buy a house, and have children in order to be happy. The media says we need to dress, talk, and act a certain way in order to attract that special someone. The media says we need to follow the latest trends, wear the right cloths, be slim and fit in order to be desirable. The media says allot.

But what does God say? In the midst of all the voices, pulling us each and every way, God is still speaking. Ever so genteelly. Saying that there is more to life than this. Saying that we don't have to fit a certain mold. Saying that He accepts us for who we are. God has something far greater to offer us. Something far greater than any fairy tail marriage can offer. Something far greater than anything the world offers. He offers us His love. Not just any kind of love. Unconditional love. Love with no strings attached. Love that never ends. Love that doesn't run out. Love that overcomes all barriers. Love in spite of all we have done. Love in spite of all our rebellion and sin. Love in spite of all the times we push God away, saying that we have found something better to fill our lives with. Love made possible through the death of His son on the cross. "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:10. This is true love. This is real love. True love, true joy, true satisfaction in this life can only be found in God. Until we are satisfied in the Lord alone; until we are content with being loved by God alone; until we give ourselves fully to God alone; we won't be able to experience real love with another. We won't be able to show unconditional love to another. We won't have full satisfaction and fulfillment in life.

Marriage. True love. Good things come to those who wait. Good things come to those who wait on God. Good things come to those whose source of love, joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment in life come from God.

"I am still confident of this:
   I will see the goodness of the LORD
   in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;
   be strong and take heart
   and wait for the LORD."
 - Psalm 27:13-24