Dr. Lawrence Butler, The Bridge Church, Pembroke

There was a time in the not too distant past when divorce was not prevalent and most babies were born to married couples.

Our young people only know this because someone told them about those days. They really did exist, and most children grew up in 2-parent homes. Our lives and culture have certainly changed, but it is still true that God created the first home and is still invested in the survival of the home.

Our marriages are under a great deal of stress. Many couples are involved in working and pursuing careers, leaving little time for family and children.

When the children do come, most of them spend their early years in daycare while parents miss some of the most wonderful moments in the lives of their babies. Sharing family and household responsibilities can often bring disagreements between parents as they struggle to move forward in their careers and yet meet the needs of children and each other. Coping with these difficulties can often bring depression, guilt and hard feelings. Is there enough love in your relationship to overcome these surefire steppingstones to divorce?

There are 4 words in Greek that are used for our word “love,” and two of them are used in John 21, which we will get to later. The word I want to focus on now is “eros.” From this word we derived the English word “erotic.”

This type of love has been utilized to make millions of dollars in the movie and television industry.

“Eros” speaks of the warm fuzzy feeling that brings desire, attraction and ultimately sexual relationship. So many young people get married and have children (sometimes they don’t get married) as a result of “eros” love.

This kind of love doesn’t stand up to pressure very well. If the moon is beautiful and soft, the warm breeze is blowing, the setting may be just perfect for “eros” type of love, but it is not what a marriage should be built upon. It does not contribute to a meaningful relationship. Love is strong enough to overcome the obstacles to the marital relationship if we obey the teachings of the New Testament.

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” (Eph.

5:25). If a couple loves one another like this, the marriage will survive.