Chapter Five – Loving The Stranger

Do we all marry strangers?

I believe love for another is the main motivator in people willing to commit a life long union in marriage.  However, marriage has its way of revealing more about a person in depth.

The question “Did I marry a total stranger?” may cross one’s mind as they are rudely awakened by shortcomings or failures in their spouse, things which could only have been seen after the vows.

“We begin to feel that we did not really know the person after all.  And this presents us with the challenge of loving a person who, at the moment, seems in large part a stranger, not the person you remember marrying.” (Keller, 135)

Although marriage has its ways of bringing one to doubts about their spouse, it is also a God-given opportunity for a husband and wife to encourage growth in each other.  If we can exercise the power of truth, love, and grace, forgiving our spouse of their shortcomings and having faith in the future person they have the potential to become, then we will experience a purpose driven marriage.  

We must see marriage as a huge investment of time, and we must be willing to give that time if we expect it to work! Read Full Article