Psychologist Elaine Walster spent 15 years to interview over 100,000 couples, to find out how long their love lasted. She discovered that between 6 months to 2.5 years after people got married, they would start to feel bored of their wife or husband.
There are many kinds of love. The encompassing love of our parents begins our own life's journey of love, a journey that wends its way through love of parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, romantic partners, and eventually full circle to the encompassing love of our own children—and grandchildren. Without love we are nothing!
Love is fundamentally important to our humanity. Various expressions of love are important, including romantic, partnered love. No one theory captures the various forms of love, but virtually all of the love theories help us to understand love better. Love may manifest somewhat differently across both cultures and ages, but overall, people are more similar than different.
The sad reality is that many people only rely on feelings and romantic love, and neglect the real love (agape). 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 describes this real love, the kind of love that is everlasting, unfailing and undestroyable.
In summary, this real love is not only a feeling, but a decision and an action. It’s not a possessive, self-centred and selfish love, but kind, patient and sacrificial love. This kind of love is based on truth, righteousness and light.
As my first year wedding anniversary is approaching, I pray that our love for each other will continue to be based on agape, in God's strength.
1 comment:
Wise and challenging words indeed.
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