The Meaning of Marriage

"I am tired of hearing sentimental talks about marriage. At weddings, in church, in Sunday School, much of what is said has no more depth than what we can read on a typical commercial postcard. Marriage is, without a doubt, many things, but never mere sentimentality. Marriage is truly something wonderful, but also something very hard. In marriage, there is joy and empowerment, but also blood, sweat, and tears; defeats that teach us humility and victories that leave us exhausted. I don't know any couple who, a few weeks after getting married, can talk about their marriage as a fairy tale come true. Therefore, it should not surprise us that the only reference phrase in Paul's well-known discourse in Ephesians 5 is the one we find in the verse cited above. There are days when, after exhausting efforts to try to reach a mutual understanding, the most you can do is sigh and acknowledge that 'Marriage is a profound mystery!' There are many times when we find ourselves perplexed by a puzzle we don't know how to solve, in a labyrinth we don't know how to get out of." (Excerpt from Chapter 1)