“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; S does not behave rudely, does not seek ifs ohm, is not provoked, thinks no evil …bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4, 5, 7).
“AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.» This final sentence of a story always my favorite when the teacher told us stories of the marriage between the prince and the princess. With the years I learned that not all princess and princesses lived happily ever after. Later, when I got married and had a family, I realized that the bride isn’t always a princess, and neither is the bridegroom a prince. I woke up from the fairy- tale, not to a tragic end, but to a more balanced vision of what marriage really is.
Marriage, a sacred institution that God created for human happiness, is a state that many wish to get out of (and that many never want to enter). Common law marriages, casual and occasional encounters, try to take the place of a holy institution that will prevail until Christ comes and we may be pan of heaven s family. How do we make sure that our statement ‘ever after,» will really be an “ever after”? How we make sure that when we say “forever” it will really be “forever”?
We read in the book Seventh-day Adventists Believe …: “Marriage was divinely established in Eden and affirmed by Jesus to be a lifelong union between a man and a woman in loving companionship” (p. 294). According to Gods ideal, marriage does not only imply that the couple will live together all their lives, but also that they may enjoy a happy companionship. In order to achieve it, we must have determination, will, self-control and love renewed and expressed every day. Furthermore, the following elements are essential:
- Understanding. This is tested on our differences in thinking and feeling. It means having an attitude that relieves the tension caused by a disagreement.
- Tolerance. This isn’t a synonym of permissiveness. To tolerate is to sympathize and empathize respectfully with the other, allowing him or her to express what he or she feels without rejecting the other.
- Acceptance. This is having an attitude of approval, being able to accept the other even in the midst of disagreements.
- Forgiveness. This is a gift that only God can give us. It implies forgiving offenses and each other’s mistakes just as God forgives ours.
With God’s help and a good determination, it is possible to live “happily ever after.”
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Take From: Daily Devotions for Women’s 2021
«BRUSHSTROKES OF GOD’S LOVE»
BY: Erna Alvarado Poblete
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Magda S
