These daily marriage devotionals are compiled from verses that we have shared with Christian couples in many counseling sessions over many years. Please read one per day and meditate on how it applies to your marriage. (Note: if you are not certain you are a Christian, please read The Sinner’s Prayer)
Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 WEB
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is often referred to as the “love chapter” and it provides a beautiful definition of agape love. It describes different aspects of love using several Greek words. Here are the Greek definitions of the examples of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:
“Love is patient” (παρακαλεῖ) - This word means to be patient or long-suffering, to bear with someone or something.
“Love is kind” (χρηστεύεται) - This word means to be kind or to act kindly, to do good to others.
“It does not envy” (φθονεῖ) - This word means to envy, to be jealous of someone or something.
“It does not boast” (καυχᾶται) - This word means to boast, to be proud or arrogant.
“It is not proud” (ὑπερηφανεῖ) - This word means to be proud, to be haughty or arrogant.
“It does not dishonor others” (αἰσχροκερδῶς πράσσει) - This phrase means to act in a dishonorable or shameful way towards others, to treat them with disrespect.
“It is not self-seeking” (ἑαυτῷ συνεργεῖ) - This phrase means to work for one’s own benefit, to be self-centered or self-seeking.
“It is not easily angered” (οὐ παροξύνεται) - This phrase means to be easily angered or to be prone to wrath.
“It keeps no record of wrongs” (οὐ κατηγορεῖ) - This phrase means to keep a record of wrongs or to bring up past faults or mistakes.
“Love does not delight in evil” (οὐ χαίρει ἐν τῇ ἀδικίᾳ) - This phrase means to take pleasure in evil or wrongdoing.
“Love rejoices with the truth” (συγχαίρει τῇ ἀληθείᾳ) - This phrase means to take pleasure in the truth, to be glad when things are true or right.
“Love always protects” (πάντοτε προσφυλάσσει) - This phrase means to protect or to guard someone or something.
“Love always trusts” (πάντοτε πεποιθεῖ) - This phrase means to trust or to have faith in someone or something.
“Love always hopes” (πάντοτε ἐλπίζει) - This phrase means to hope or to have a sense of expectation for something.
“Love always perseveres” (πάντοτε ὑπομένει) - This phrase means to persevere or to endure, to remain faithful or steadfast in the face of adversity.
Agape love is the highest form of love, it’s a selfless and unconditional love. It’s the love that God has for us, and it’s the love that we should strive to have for our spouse and others.
One example of agape love in the Old Testament is the story of Ruth and Naomi. Ruth shows agape love when she chooses to leave her home and her people to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi, even though it meant living in poverty and hardship. Ruth 1:16-17 says “But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.”
In the New Testament, an example of agape love is seen in the person of Jesus Christ. He demonstrated agape love when he died on the cross for our sins, even though we were his enemies. Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The Greek word used for “love” in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is “agape” which means a selfless, unconditional love. It’s a love that is not based on feelings or emotions but a love that is based on a choice to love.
In conclusion, Agape love is the highest form of love and it’s the love that we should strive to have in our Christian marriage. It’s a selfless, unconditional love that is not based on feelings or emotions but on a choice to love. Agape love requires patience, kindness, humility, and a willingness to put the needs of our spouse above our own. It requires sacrifice and commitment. By choosing to love in this way, we can cultivate a deeper level of love and intimacy in our marriage.
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If you miss one, two, or many days, don’t worry about it and don’t try to catch up. Just start where you are and keep going. We have found the Holy Spirit can prompt you to return to just the passage you need for today.
This is an ongoing labor of love because these marriage devotionals will never be finished, but we have to start somewhere, so we will update often. We appreciate your support and prayers because this is a work of God not us. And please forgive us because we have never found a verse that doesn’t apply to marriage somehow.
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. (Proverbs 30:5)
Going beyond marriage devotionals
- Leave and cleave – God gave husbands instruction to leave and cleave because they need to break ties with their birth-families to forge their marriages
- The perspective of a successful marriage – If this perspective can lead to an incredible Olympic victory, imagine what it can do for your marriage. It’s almost a miracle!
- Biblical relationship checkup – This Biblical relationship checkup helps couples find where they are on God’s map of a successful marriage and find direction for improvement
- Help for hurting marriages – When I am weak, then I am strong. Help for hurting marriages is found in the wisdom of these Bible scriptures. Apply them as often as needed.
- Tying the Knot: A Premarital Guide to a Strong and Lasting Marriage by Rob Green – Field-tested and recommended by multiple counselors in a thriving counseling practice, Tying the Knot has already guided many couples into a stronger and more joyful union. Let this nine-week pre-marriage study reorient your life and marriage around Christ, so you both will experience all the blessings of marriage as God designed it.
- Love Life for Every Married Couple: How to Fall in Love, Stay in Love, Rekindle Your Love by Ed Wheat – This is a favorite classic book because it has stood the test of time. Physician Ed Wheat has helped thousands of couples improve their love lives and build happier marriages. In Love Life for Every Married Couple, he’ll help you improve your marriage through sharing, touching, appreciating, and focusing healing attention on your mate.