As I wrote in my last article, love is an amazing thing. When I perform wedding ceremonies, I like to use Paul's great passage on love found in 1 Corinthians 13. To me, that may be the most powerful writing in scripture.

Sometimes when we're reading, we gloss over the words without really listening to what they mean. Paul tells us "love is not arrogant or rude, it is not boastful, or keeps a record of the wrongs, but rejoices in the right." If we honestly followed the teaching of Paul, our lives would be so much different, not with just our spouses, but with everyone.

Relationships take work. If we go into marriage with the idea that as soon as problems crop up we quit, then there is no doubt that little will be accomplished in that relationship. Character is built on perseverance. If we give effort when the going is rough, that is when we gain strength.

Love does not fail. When we give love, we receive love. Sometimes we don't get it from the same person that we are giving our love to, but love is an entity unto itself, and if we are loving people, then love will return to us tenfold. To quote Paul once again, "faith, hope, love, abide these three, but the greatest of these is love."