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Here are two interesting and thought-provoking illustrations on the theme of love:

Bonhoeffer on Love and Marriage
"Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher dignity and power, for it is God's holy ordinance, through which he wills to perpetuate the human race till the end of time. In your love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls into his kingdom.

In your love, you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal—it is a status, an office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man.

As high as God is above man, so high are the sanctity, the rights, and the promise of marriage above the sanctity, the rights, and the promise of love. It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love."

Citation: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "A Wedding Sermon from Prison"; submitted by Aaron Goerner
Topics: Fidelity; Husbands; Love, romantic; Marriage; Monogamy; Spouses; Vows
Filters: Marriage & Sex, Quotes
References: Malachi 2:16, Hebrews 13:4, Genesis 1:23-24
Tone: Commend

Marital Stress Inhibits Healing
A 2005 study from researches at Ohio State University showed that marital arguments can have a significant affect on the physical health of each spouse.

The study looked at 42 couples, all of which had been married for at least 12 years, during two clinical visits conducted two months apart. At the beginning of each visit, the researchers used a small suction device to inflict blisters on the arms of each participant. During the first visit, the spouses were lead in positive discussions. For the second visit, however, the couples were encouraged to talk about things on which they disagreed. The sessions were videotaped to determine the degree of hostility between each couple, and the wounds were monitored for blood flow and fluid accumulation.

The study revealed that a 30 minute marital disagreement can add a day or more to the healing process of a wound.

Citation: Robert Roy Britt, "Marital Spats Slow Healing of Wounds," LiveScience.com (12-5-05); submitted by Brian Larson, Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Topics: Arguments; Conflict; Fighting; Healing; Husbands; Marriage; Spouses; Wives
Filters: Marriage & Sex, Statistics
References: Proverbs 27:15, Proverbs 12:4, Proverbs 19:13, Ephesians 5:22-28, 1 Corinthians 7:4
Tone: Neutral/Mixed
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For all 10 illustrations on this theme, see the right column, Love & Romance Illustrations.