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For this is how much God loved the world—he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life.

John 3:16 (TPT) 

In our imitation of the creator, we have been blessed with the ability to love. God is so amazing – He has given us several types of love that are defined by the types of relationship we have. The love we feel toward a close friend is deep and the love for our spouse can leave us breathless – without words, but in every type of relationship the feelings and the emotions are very different. Many have tried to define it, explain it, even weigh and measure different loves, but surely it is too difficult to do. Every means at our disposal is utterly inadequate to explain love in any form. It affects every part of us as it declares the simple truth that we are made in the image of God who is by His very nature love:  

The one who doesn’t love has yet to know God, for God is love.

1 John 4:8 (TPT)  

Love is an experience - at times incredibly joyous, sometimes quite painful. Love needs to grow; it can never be stagnant. When we think of romantic love, we see strangers meeting, captivated by each other, growing in an attraction that becomes a whirlwind. This is erotic love – fiery and passionate. This is the type of love designed to bring two strangers together to begin a relationship with a capacity to grow into something that leads to commitment, covenant relationship and deep intimacy. Romantic love can also be a dangerous thing. It is deeply passionate, intense but often volatile; easily shaken by circumstances and conditions. When things are going well our love is a raging fire but when things are not going so well our love is easily quenched. Even so, this should never persuade us to restrain this erotic love because passion and romance are essential ingredients enhancing every love journey. Nonetheless, let us understand that this type of love has limits. We need to aim higher because romantic love alone is not the mountaintop. It is not enough alone to sustain the growth of a relationship for the long haul in the pursuit of oneness. Romantic love is a great starter, but for the forever journey, marital relationship needs to be built by something more complete, something less volatile. It requires Agape love – a love that is utterly unconditional, not dependent upon performance and sacrificial in nature - It chooses to love even when it hurts. Marriages that not only last but grow daily are those that are able to mature into a reflection of Christ’s love. Is it at all surprising that this is God’s expectation – that we aspire to reflect Him? The fact that we mess up at times and disappoint is common and expected.  The key is whether we want to push on to reach the goal despite the disappointments. When we do, we escape from the trap of selfish ambition and climb toward the mountaintop. When you ascend, you will find the mountaintop a prize worthy of the climb. At the mountaintop, oneness is not working together and cooperating with each other, it is simply being one.  

Marriage is the beautiful design of the Almighty, a great and sacred mystery—meant to be a vivid example of Christ and his church. 

Ephesians 5:32 (TPT)  

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Steve and Khanya