“But What If You Did?” (Prov. 18:22)

Husband: “Darling, don’t be upset. You know I’ve never found anyone who meets my all needs better than you do.”

Wife (tearfully): “But what if you did?”

Some spouses have exchanged their partner for someone they believed “understood them better.” Worldly love emphasizes contentment. Christian love emphasizes commitment, because:

First, Christian marriage is characterized by an exclusive commitment. It is important to tell our mates throughout the year that he or she is our most intimate and valued companion and will never be replaced, no matter how attractive or understanding or compatible someone else may be.

Second, Christian marriage is characterized by an accepting commitment. It is a commitment that accepts in love our partner’s imperfections, even when we lose hair and gain weight. It is a commitment which covers and accepts the past, even things that happened in past relationships.

Third, Christian marriage is characterized by an anticipating commitment. “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be…” (1 John 3:2). When a couple stands at the church to get married, it is not two persons that the minister sees, it is six. There is the man that he thinks he is. There is the man that she thinks he is. And there is the man that he really is. Then there is the woman that she thinks she is. There is the woman that he thinks she is. And there is the woman that she really is. The task of marriage is to try to figure out who in the world have I gotten married to. Thank God, it will take a lifetime.