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 found in the verse cited above. There are days when, after exhausting efforts to try to reach a mutual understanding, the most that can be done is to sigh and recognize that 'Marriage is a profound mystery!' Many are the times when we find ourselves perplexed by a puzzle we don't know how to solve, in a labyrinth from which we don't know how to escape." (Excerpt from Chapter 1)