Illustration results for marriage
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In ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ Edmund’s love for ‘Turkish Delight’ caused him to betray his family. He fell into the trap set by the Witch and since it tasted so good he became obsessed with getting more ‘Turkish Delight’. The temptation of luscious ‘Turkish Delight’ became stronger even than his family loyalty; (that’s often what happens when a marriage breaks down due to adultery). Later in the book as the Witch prepares to kill Edmund he is rescued by troops from Aslan’s army. Next morning Edmund comes face to face with his brother Peter and his sisters Lucy and Susan. At this point there could have been an almighty family brawl, the type of brawl which I hope and pray you do not experience this Christmas!
But there’s no brawl and no harsh words. After talking with Edmund Aslan says, “Here is your brother; and there is no need to talk to him about what is past.”
Edmund shook hands with each of the others and said to each of them in turn, “I’m sorry”.
Aslan rescued Edmund, and Edmund was restored to his brothers and sisters. That’s how God desires to be with us. God says, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
In the musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” Tevye, a man devoted to tradition, finds his thinking challenged when his oldest daughter wants to marry for love, instead of having her marriage arranged by her parents. It had never occurred to him that one would marry for love, and one night he cannot help but ask his own wife the question (in song, of course!): “Do You Love Me?”
T: Golde, do you love me?
G: Do I what?
T: Do you love me?
G: You’re a fool!
T: I know! But do you love me?
G: Do I love him? For twenty five years I’ve cooked for him, cleaned for him, starved with him. Twenty five years my bed is his. If that’s not love - what is?
There are times when going through the motions just doesn’t cut it. There are even times when a commitment to “going through the motions” can cause us to miss what’s most important. For 25 years, Tevye and Golde had been going through the motions of a loving marriage, without ever thinking about whether they loved one another or not.
In the film, Bridges of Madison County, Francesca Johnson, played by Meryl Streep, has a four day affair with Robert Kinkaid, a photographer played by Clint Eastwood. Her husband and children are away at the Iowa State Fair at the time, and they learn of the affair after her death when they read a three volume diary where she details the adulterous affair. There was nothing particularly wrong with her marriage and family, but she obviously considered the affair the most important event in her life. The dairy said little about her marriage or her children. It was excitement without the necessary commitment. No relationship had to be developed. She did not have to put up with his faults. Its brevity put it in the category of fantasy rather than reality, and it is always easier to live in the world of fantasy than it is to live in reality. Unfortunately, there are many people leading this kind of shallow life.
[Fiddler on the Roof]
Tevye: "Golde, I have decided to give Perchik permission to become engaged to our daughter, Hodel."
Golde: "What? He’s poor! He has nothing, absolutely nothing!"
Tevye: "He’s a good man, Golde. I like him. And what’s more important, Hodel likes him. Hodel loves him. So what can we do? It’s a new world... A new world. Love. Golde..." Do you love me?
Golde: Do I what?
Tevye: Do you love me?
Golde: Do I love you?
With our daughters getting married
And this trouble in the town
You’re upset, you’re worn out
Go inside, go lie down!
Maybe it’s indigestion
Tevye: "Golde I’m asking you a question..." Do you love me?
Golde: You’re a fool
Tevye: "I know..." But do you love me?
Golde: Do I love you?
For twenty-five years I’ve washed your clothes
Cooked your meals, cleaned your house
Given you children, milked the cow
After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?
Tevye: Golde, The first time I met you
Was on our wedding day
I was scared
Golde: I was shy
Tevye: I was nervous
Golde: So was I
Tevye: But my father and my mother
Said we’d learn to love each other
And now I’m asking, Golde
Do you love me?
Golde: I’m your wife
Tevye: "I know..." But do you love me?
Golde: Do I love him?
For twenty-five years I’ve lived with him
Fought him, starved with him
Twenty-five years my bed is his
If that’s not love, what is?
Tevye: Then you love me?
Golde: I suppose I do
In the musical “Fiddler on the Roof”, a russian peasant named Tevye asks his wife a simple question “Do you love me.”
Love him? Golde had never even met Tevye until the day of their arranged wedding. Now, after 25 years of marriage he wants to talk of love? It sounds so, so ... ridiculous, so foreign that she thinks he must have indigestion and should go and lie down for a while.
Tevye repeats the question however more earnestly this time.
“Golde wonders at his thinking, then explains how hard she has worked as his wife - cooking his meals, washing his clothes, having his children.
Still, it doesn’t satisfy Tevye and he asks again.
This time, Golde falls back on the obvious: she’s his Wife!
Even so, Tevye persists - does she love him?
After some reflection, she answers that she does indeed love him, realizing that her life hasn’t been just meaningless busy work. She has worked so hard because of her love for Tevye.
After 25 years of an arranged marriage, listen to Tevya’s question to Golde in the musical Fiddler on the Roof:
(Tevye) “Golde, I have decided to give Perchik permission to become engaged to our daughter, Hodel.”
(Golde) “What??? He’s poor! He has nothing, absolutely nothing!”
(Tevye) “He’s a good man, Golde. I like him. And what’s more important, Hodel likes him. Hodel loves him. So what can we do? It’s a new world... A new world. Love. Golde…Do you love me?”
(Golde) Do I what?
(Tevye) Do you love me?
(Golde) Do I love you? With our daughters getting married and this trouble in the town You’re upset, you’re worn out Go inside, go lie down! Maybe it’s indigestion
(Tevye) Golde I’m asking you a question... “Do you love me?”
(Golde) You’re a fool
(Tevye) I know...But do you love me?
(Golde) Do I love you? For twenty-five years I’ve washed your clothes Cooked your meals, cleaned your house Given you children, milked the cow After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?
(Tevye) Golde, The first time I met you Was on our wedding day. I was scared
(Golde) I was shy
(Tevye) I was nervous
(Golde) So was I
(Tevye) But my father and my mother Said we’d learn to love each other And now I’m asking, Golde, Do you love me?
(Golde) I’m your wife!
(Tevye) I know...But do you love me?
(Golde) Do I love him? For twenty-five years I’ve lived with him Fought him, starved with him Twenty-five years my bed is his If that’s not love, what is?
(Tevye) Then you love me?
(Golde) I suppose I do
(Tevye) And I suppose I love you too
(Both) It doesn’t change a thing But even so After twenty-five years, It’s nice to know
I want you to see what I think is one of the greatest examples of what we’ve been talking about and surprisingly it’s in a Hollywood motion picture. In “The Family Man” Jack, the husband, has made a career decision without consulting Kate, his wife. Because the opportunity is so lucrative Jack is ready to root up his whole family for the “better life.” There are some tense moments between the two of them but when the dust settles Kate communicates with her husband about this very volatile situation. I want you to listen to Kate’s ultimate response to Jack’s decision. Watch her body language, her tone and listen to her words.
VIDEO CLIP - The Family Man - Chap. 14:1:35:12 - 1:36:59 - 1:47
Many have seen the movie "A Beautiful Mind" and the incredible story of John Nash, but the strength behind the story is Nash’s wife.
Toward the end of the movie Alysia has a conversation with one of her husband’s lifelong friends. It shows the power of genuine love and commitment.
From "A Beautiful Mind"
"So Allisa how, how are you holding up...I mean how are you?"
"I think often what I feel is obligation...or guilt...over wanting to leave...against John, against God...but then I look at him and I force myself to see the man that I married and he...
(Video Clip montage from Titanic - mpeg 2:58)
It was that tragic, true story that served as the backdrop for the blockbuster film Titanic, which steamed past all other movies to become the top grossing movie of all time. It earned $601 million. It was the #1 movie in America for 13 weeks in a row. Thousands of people returned to see Titanic two, four, ten times, and they didn’t return to see a big ocean liner sink in icy waters. (Oops, sorry if I ruined the end of the movie for you.) No, they returned because of the romance. They returned because there was something about being embraced; to have someone’s arms around you as you stood on the bow of the ship of life, to know that you are loved beyond reason, as in the case of Jack and Rose.
As tragic as the sinking of the Titanic was, over 1,500 lives lost, you can multiply that number a million times over and record the death toll of marriages.
THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY: PREDESTINATION
A few years ago, a movie came out about a boy in Vietnam who’s father had been an American GI (The Beautiful Country). His life was miserable because no one in Vietnam accepted him. He was a half-breed. His mother wanted him to try to escape to America to find his father. But how, the boy thought, how could I ever find him?
Then his mother showed him a copy of their marriage certificate. This was the proof he needed. He went through a terrible ordeal trying to make it to America, and all along the way he would pull out that wrinkled marriage certificate to inspire him to keep going.
You and I have a similar certificate. It is called the Holy Bible. If you question whether or not you are predestined, I simply urge you to take out your Scriptures. Read the promises therein. Do you believe them? Do you believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that He died for your sins? If so, then you are part of that divine destiny. May God bless you in that awesome destiny.
