Answers
By BGEA Admin • August 22, 2023 • Topics: Marriage
Q:
My fiancé and I are preparing for our wedding and we want it to be a traditional ceremony that will point many of our friends to the real purpose of marriage and faithfulness for a lifetime. Weddings have become events and entertainment rather than a public commitment in the presence of family and friends to love one another and be faithful no matter what life doles out. While romance is part of our attraction to each other, we want our ceremony to be holy; set apart from how the world defines marriage today. In researching what that should be, we came across the word “agape,” love. Is this a description of love that can be applied to marriage?
A:
From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham
A marriage based only on physical attraction or romantic emotions is almost certainly doomed to failure right from the start. The original Greek language using the word “agape” describes a selfless love.
The Bible stresses that a marriage ideally should be a picture or a reflection of Christ’s love for His people. Marriage is a holy bond because it permits two people to help each other work out their spiritual destinies. God declared marriage to be good, and the intent is for marriage to be a serious long-term contract—a commitment a couple makes for a lifetime. Nothing brings more joy than a good marriage.
In a day when marriage is being torn asunder, how it must please the Lord to see a young couple desire to use their lives together to lift Him up. The secret to a solid marriage is the uniting of not two lives, but three persons: the man, the woman and God. This is what makes marriage holy and serves as the foundation for building a strong home and family. A loving God ordained monogamous marriage and the sanctity of what is known as the traditional family.
(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)
