Holy Matrimony between a man and a woman is the union of the two in the sight of God. It also represents the union that man has with God in His Church.

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-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), February 08, 2005

Answers

Some believe that such an institution of marriage is not necessary since love conquers all. Well, love conquers all to a certain extent. Forgiveness conquers all when love dilutes. The ultimate form of love, for human behavior, is forgiveness. God taught us that.

Marriage is for better or worse. Without commitment, you have no marriage, love or no love.

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-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), February 08, 2005.

Here is another thread about Marriage.

BTW, this thread is meant for SDQA.

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-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), February 08, 2005.

the ultimate form of love is forgivness? what about sacrifice?

-- sdqa (sdqa@sdqa.com), February 08, 2005.

Well, yes. From a divine point of view, Jesus made the ultimate Sacrifice. But, I was referring to us mortal humans. Sure, we can make sacrifices, but they will not measure up to Christ' Sacrifice on the cross. To forgive someone, is to accept the other person's wrong doings provided that the other person finds repentance and confession.

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-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), February 08, 2005.

Some say self-sacrifice is the greatest expression of love. In an OT way, a man would give up the best that was his as a sacrifice to God, yet God spoke through his prophets that it is better to obey than to offer sacrifices.

Obedience IS sacrifice, not of animal but the yielding of desire, allowing the will of God to overpower that of mortal.

In marriage, husbands and wives are to submit to one another in love. But as humans, we lack the Godliness of perfection. There is no perfect mate, and there is no perfect marriage. So, while each can commit to submission to the other, that dedication will be violated. The ball of love is passed to the other mate.

Submission is perhaps the greatest love a mate can show for the other before trust is broken or disappointment is brought, but forgiveness is the "Gorilla Glue" of marriage because it is the expression of love that carries a couple through the times when submission seems impossible.

But I'm not married, so this is just my opinion.

-- Luke Juarez (hubertdorm@yahoo.com), February 08, 2005.

You have to understand what the word "PERFECT" truly means in Biblical terms. It is not the same as our language today. Back then and the way it should be translated today it means "maturity". It is abiding in total humility before God and allowing Him to mature you. It is total commitment to that end. In these terms, a man and woman can have a "perfect" marriage if they are totally committed one to the other and totally humbled before God, allowing Him to mature them in their relationship with each other and with Him. Granted, not everyone is 100% totally committed 100% of the time. It is a work in process.

-- Linda Spagnola (lindasbeat@earthlink.net), February 26, 2005.