The purpose and power of love & marriage

258 Pages·2002·1.03 MB·english

by  Myles Munroe

T H E P U R P O S E
A N D P O W E R O F
L O V E
3
M A R R I A G E

M M
Y L E S U N R O E
T H E P U R P O S E
A N D P O W E R O F
L O V E
3
M A R R I A G E
© Copyright 2002 — Myles Munroe
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study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless
otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNA-
TIONAL VERSION.® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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Destiny Image Publishers, Inc.
®
P.O. Box 310
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“Speaking to the Purposes of God for This Generation
and for the Generations to Come”
ISBN 0-7684-2251-5
Previously Published as:
ISBN 0-7684-2154-3: Understanding Love™Mariage, Still a Great Idea
ISBN 0-7684-2155-1: Understanding Love™ and the Secrets of the Heart
ISBN 0-7684-2156-X: Understanding Love™ For a Lifetime
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Dedication
T
o my beautiful, fantastic, awesome, wonderful, sensitive wife,
Ruth—your support, respect, commitment, dedication, patience, and
prayers for me make me look like a good husband and father. Thank you
for making the principles in this book a practical reality. Thank you for
making our marriage all I expected this adventure in human relations to
be. I love you.
To my precious daughter, Charisa, and my beloved son, Chairo. May
your marriages be built on the principles and precepts inherent in the
distilled wisdom of the time-tested truths of the Word of God. May this
book become my greatest wedding gift to you and your children as you
embrace its precepts.
To my father and late mother, Matthias and Louise Munroe. Your
marriage of over 50 years became the living model and standard for me
as I observed the beauty and benefit of a marriage built on the founda-
tion of the Word of God. Thank you for teaching me how to love my
wife and children.
To all the unmarried singles who desire to have the successful mar-
riage the Creator originally intended. May the wisdom of this book con-
tribute to this desire.
To all married couples whose desire it is to improve and enhance
their relationship. May you apply the principles of this book to assist in
fulfilling your vows and to experience the marriage the Creator origi-
nally intended for mankind.
To the source of all wisdom, knowledge and understanding, the Cre-
ator of the institute of marriage, my Lord and Redeemer, Jehovah
Shalom, Yeshua.

C
ontents
PART ONE
Understanding Love™ Marriage, Still a Great Idea
Preface
CHAPTER ONE Marriage Is Like a Precious Gem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
CHAPTER TWO Marriage Is Honorable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
CHAPTER THREE Why Get Married, Anyway? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
CHAPTER FOUR Everyone Should Have a Garden Wedding . . . . . . . . .47
CHAPTER FIVE A Happy Marriage Is No Accident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
CHAPTER SIX Loosing the Ties That Bind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
CHAPTER SEVEN Vive la Difference! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
CHAPTER EIGHT Friendship: The Highest Relationship of All . . . . . . . .97
PART TWO
Understanding Love™ and the Secrets of the Heart
CHAPTER ONE This Thing Called Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
CHAPTER TWO God Loves You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
CHAPTER THREE Loving God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
CHAPTER FOUR Loving Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
CHAPTER FIVE Loving Your Partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
PART THREE
Understanding Love™ For a Lifetime
CHAPTER ONE Marriage: A Roleless Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
CHAPTER TWO The Question of Submission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181
CHAPTER THREE Mastering the Art of Communication . . . . . . . . . . . .191
CHAPTER FOUR Don’t Forget the Little Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199
CHAPTER FIVE Kingdom Management Principles for Couples . . . . .211
CHAPTER SIX Sexual Intimacy in Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223
CHAPTER SEVEN Family Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237
CHAPTER EIGHT Living Under Agape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249
Preface
T
he greatest source of human joy and pain is found in the drama of
love and relationships. Marriage has always been the most common context
for this drama. Today, many question the viability and validity of marriage
and openly wonder if it should continue to be esteemed as the bedrock of
modern social development.
The epidemic and explosive rise of the divorce rate adds further fuel to
the fear, hopelessness, disillusionment, and despair people feel with regard to
marriage. Many are skeptical and question their chances at success in mar-
riage. The situation is so serious that some have opted for co-habitation with-
out any formal contract or legal agreement, with the understanding that no
commitment is involved—no strings attached. In essence, we are producing
a generation whose appreciation and respect for the institution of marriage
is disintegrating.
Many victims of these failed marriages and divorced families develop
resentment and suppressed anger, which manifest themselves in a genera-
tional transfer of broken relationships and emotional dysfunction. Because
of the fear of failure, some have plainly stated that they neither believe in
marriage nor intend ever to marry. The negative press given to high profile
individuals in sports, entertainment, politics and, sadly, the church, whose
marriages have also fallen victim to the demise of relationships, has not
helped. It has served only to further erode the respect, confidence and the
high position the marriage institution once held in the social structure of
our communities.
Where is this all headed? Where do we go from here? Will the institution
of marriage survive the onslaught of negative reports, horror stories, and
the proponents of radical society change who promote the idea that mar-
riage has outlived its usefulness and value to human society?
I am curious: If we do away with the traditional institution of marriage,
what will we replace it with? What more effective and efficient arrangement
could we find to secure the level of commitment, loyalty, support, sense of
10 Understanding Love: Marriage, Still a Great Idea
community, and love necessary to meet the basic needs of the human spirit,
needs such as love, a sense of belonging and importance, security and
mutual respect? Over the past six thousand years no civilization or culture
has produced a better concept for orderly social development than that of
the traditional institution of marriage. Every society and culture has recog-
nized an instinctive desire and need for a formal arrangement for the
healthy development of families.
It is my belief that no matter how advanced man may become in science,
technology, systems, and knowledge, he can never improve on the founda-
tional precepts of marriage as the bedrock of social development. It is my
conviction that marriage is such a good idea, only God could have thought of it.
In spite of the many failed marriages, broken homes, divorce cases and
disillusioned products of failed relationships, marriage is still a good idea.
In fact, it is the best idea.