WHAT HAS LOVE GOT TO DO?

love is long-suffering, and kind; love is never envious, never boastful, never conceited, never behaves unbecomingly;

love is never self-seeking, never provoked, never reckons up her wrongs;

love never rejoices at evil, but rejoices in the triumph of truth;

 love bears with all things, every trustful, ever hopeful, ever patient. 1Cor 13:4-7

"I can't take it anymore from you Andrea, I have given you so much time to get better but it seems you just don't want to". Collins spoke in a manner to his fiancée publicly that one who heard him could have thought he was speaking to a maid. Kimberly had done it again. This time she couldn't fathom how she repeated such a blunder. She knew it wasn't happening because she intended to default. Lately she had been so stressed having to prepare for her professional exams and at the same time give a host of her clients the best catering services. All she could say was, "I'm so very sorry Honey."

A lot of people go through such things in their relationships/marriages as one partner tends to lower the self esteem of the other probably as a result of their flaws, shortcoming or a health deficiency, and lowers their self esteem to a point that is enough to leave an impression that makes the person so treated feel that they're only being managed. While the other person is still trying to grow strong and overcome their frequent flaws, most times a separation or a divorce comes next when the other partner feels he or she can no longer endure. The big questions are: Should true love reduce people because they are weak? Should true love not help people get better? Should true love not be patient with the shortcomings of others? Should true love get weary because the change it seeks is delayed? Should true love not hold on and wait for improvements when it sees the person is willing to learn and is adjusting, no matter how slow the progress seems to be?

True love was created with the intention to be for everyone to enjoy its rich and fulfilling nature but unfortunately not everyone understands it and without understanding it one cannot enjoy what it stands to provide. It is said that many people want to go to heaven but no one wants to die. We can say something similar about true love. We all want to experience true love but most people do not want to have bad or challenging times. Real Love is not just what you feel; it's a choice to stay in spite of what you feel. It is for both the good and bad times in relationships especially marriages. It isn't just for times when things go rosy and sweet. If that's only when love is needed, the marriage vow would not have included the phrase "for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do part."

As a matter of fact, true love has no time limit. It's eternal but its application in a marriage is only for the confines of earth. Understanding what true love means can help reduce a lot of mishaps in relationships as well as marriages. For the adolescents and young adults who think the rush of hormones in their blood is love, it's imperative that they learn right in order to avoid emotional wrecks because that it not love. For the almost married, it's important for them to know that when you choose whom to get married to, you are also making the decision of whom you can tolerate until death do you part. For those already married, no matter for how long you've been married, I'd like to remind you that true love always believes. Believe for the best in your spouse in their areas of low output, pray for them, confess blessings over them and with your words, declare positive things into their future.

The best model for any relationship is Christ Jesus. All his relationships were successful. He could have put Peter aside when he betrayed Him but He had prayed for him before then and still had his arms wide open to him. Can you stand a betrayal from someone who claimed to love you and to always stand by you? You might say, "But Christ didn't get married." Yeah, that's true but He has a relationship with the Church that's going to culminate in a marriage at the end of time. Only those who believe in Him and live a life led and controlled by true love will make it. If the Love Christ shows us the church on earth is this mind blowing, how much more when we get to heaven? Think about it, you don't want to miss that for anything