Odds, Ends and Stray Musings: On Christian Marriage

 

1) Love and virtue
At a human level, if Jack falls in love with Jill, then that love isn’t a virtue, it’s a feeling. But we are told by Jesus that loving God is a virtue, because it is the great and first commandment (Matthew 22:36-40). This shows that loving God is more than a feeling; it is a commitment. It is a commitment to virtue, to betterment, to Godliness, and to a deep, lifelong relationship with Christ, the object of our love.

With that, we can now see why Jack’s falling in love with Jill (and vice-versa) is not a virtue, but the precursor to virtue, in that is a commitment to virtue, to betterment, to Godliness, and to a deep, lifelong relationship with God and each other in Christian marriage.

2) Seeing faults
One profound thing about seeing the faults in our beloved is that seeing faults is also an opportunity for seeing potential for greater goodness, truth, or love. It’s a bit like when a student sees a gap in another student’s knowledge – it is an opportunity to explore potential for greater understanding which, to individuals genuinely passionate about learning, is an exchange worthy of appreciation. Try to help each other to view areas needing improvement as opportunities for growth and the further expanding of potential.

3) Good for each other
If what’s good for my beloved is a part of my good, then I am pursuing my beloved’s good for their own sake, but I am pursuing my own good at the same time, because what’s good for me is good for them, and what’s good for them is good for me, and what’s good for both of us is good for the marriage.