In marriage, as well as other relationships, love is vital. And the only way to demonstrate true love is through a relationship with God, "God is Love". 1 John 4:8 states, "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love" (KJV). The American Heritage Dictionary defines love as "an intense affection for another person based on familial or personal ties". Often this "intense affection" stems from a sexual attraction for that other person. We love other people, or we say we love other people, when we are attracted to them and when they make us feel good. Notice that a key phrase in the dictionary definition of love is "based on". This phrase implies that we love conditionally; in other words, we love someone because they fulfill a condition that we require before we can love them.

However, is this way how God instructs us to love or how he approaches love towards us? There are many passages in the Bible that give us God's definition of love. The most familiar verse is John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". We are the ones, who choose to reject God, yet it's God who restores the separation through His intense personal sacrifice, and all we have to do is accept His gift.

Let's examine the word of God and what the scripture says about love; or, another word it is often referred to as charity:

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away" (1Corinthians 13:4-8)

God is speaking to marriages and relationships as a whole. We must examine ourselves to see if we truly love the way that God has commanded us. There is no other example of love better than God. He has taught love, because He is Love! When we look at how he loves us unconditionally, despite our faults and failures, then we can better know how to love others. The dictionary and the world's definition clearly reflects that love is interpreted in a different way than that of God. We must look unto God and his definition of love, not the worlds!

I pray that God will give you a better understanding of how we should approach love; because love is amazing and needed within marriage and in relationships.