God's Successful Marriage

  Valentine’s Day has a way of stirring something inside us. Flowers. Chocolates. Cards with words we wish we had written ourselves. Candlelit dinners. Maybe a little friendly debate over who forgot to make reservations. It’s a sweet day. But if we’re not careful, it becomes only that — sweet. And biblical love is far more than sweet. The Love We Want… and the Love We’re Called To We all love the idea of romance. The butterflies. The surprises. The thoughtful gestures. The “I still choose you” moments. But Scripture paints a picture of love that is deeper than a dinner reservation. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” – John 15:13 Holy Bible That’s not chocolate-box love. That’s sacrificial love. That’s cross-shaped love. And that’s the love Jesus has for us. The Love That Came First Before we ever bought flowers… Before we ever said “I do”… Before we ever got marriage right (or wrong)… God loved us. “But God demonstrates His own l...

  When Pain Didn’t Leave, but Joy Still Showed Up I didn’t wake up healed. The pain was still there. The anxiety. The depression. The moral injury. The numbness. PTSD hadn’t gone anywhere. Nothing about my life suddenly became easier. And yet, on that day—at an amusement park with my wife and my 17-year-old daughter—I still had a good day. That alone felt worth paying attention to. Joy Without Conditions I wasn’t chasing happiness. I wasn’t trying to “make the most of it.” I wasn’t pretending things were okay. I was just present. For once, I wasn’t replaying the past or bracing for the future. I wasn’t fixing myself, explaining myself, or carrying everything else I’ve been holding. I was walking. Laughing. Standing in lines. Watching my daughter smile. Holding my wife’s hand. And somewhere in the middle of all that, joy showed up—uninvited, unexpected, and unearned. Scripture tells us: “Though sorrow may last for the night, joy comes in the morning.” — Psalm 30...