LOVE AND LOVE Reflections

Engagement is a word greatly misunderstood and misused in our days and age. Many, including some churches, misconstrue the traditional marriage to be the engagement, which is totally wrong and out of ignorance. "Engagement is an intermediate stage (period) between the time of a marriage proposal and marriage when a man and a woman commit fully to each other to make practical preparation for joining themselves to each other in marriage." Betrothal which is a form of engagement (also called espousal) was once common in formal arranged marriages, and it was common for parents to betroth their children to arrange marriages many years before the engaged couple were old enough. Betrothal in the Jewish tradition is taken very seriously; breaking a betrothal requires a formal divorce, and violation of betrothal is considered adultery.  The Marriage Proposal & Acceptance A marriage proposal is an event where one person in a relationship asks for the other's hand ...

Do you remember the book, Courtesy for Boys and Girls ? Maybe everyone should get a copy because it’s amazing how much rudeness we have in our societies these days. Courtesy has been thrown away such that there is no regard for the elderly, authority, and rules and regulations. There are a lot of bad habits in our daily lives.  Is it not amazing that “Christians” are daily increasing in numbers, but the rate of deviant behaviours and social vices keep soaring? Courtesy is love in little things; it is Love in society – in relation to etiquette or manners. It is said that, “Put the most untutored, unsophisticated person into the highest society, and if they have a reservoir of love in their hearts, they will not behave unseemingly.” The courteous person can mingle with any society. Someone rightly said, ‘there would be no need for laws if there is courtesy in our societies.’ Truly, Love is not rude; it does not behave unbecomingly, and it is not ill-mannered. Being courte...

Make a good case in your courtship As we socialize, associate or mingle with many people of the opposite sex through dating, there comes a time when we are drawn to one particular person with much interest in them. As the interest becomes stronger, we become so serious about each other and we begin to think of the chances of building a long term relationship and a future together. This feeling and interest is naturally mutual even though we might not communicate it verbally to ourselves. Courtship is about developing an intimate friendship with the opposite sex with the mutual view of possible marriage. Contrast to dating where the partners may have no commitment to consider marriage but for other reasons especially to have fun and enjoy romantic associations, people court only when they are ready to make a commitment to marriage. There is no "shopping" around once you start courting.   Courtship is the “Court” of Marriage Courtship is the "court...

Humility is having or showing a low estimate of oneself – one’s own importance. It is a very difficult challenge to be humble, because naturally we all have some level of pride in us. Most people see humility as being inferior, but it is a strong virtue!   Humility is Love in Position or Status Love is humble; it does not think highly of itself than it should. It does not boast; it is not proud. First, humility means being quiet about yourself. The humble person does not vaunt or parade herself; he is not a braggart. Love is not puffed up. It does not blow the horns when it does good to someone. Second, it means not looking down on others. It considers others better than itself. The humble person is not arrogant. She does say sorry! Third, it means letting others shine. It means giving them the chance to deliver and believing in them, thinking they can do better. Pride Costs Pride is a sin. It makes us exalt ourselves at the expense of God, thus displacing Him...

God had a concern for mutual human support and companionship. The first negative assessment by God of an otherwise excellent and perfect creation (Genesis 1:31) was aloneness as indicated in His statement “It is not good for the man to be alone… (Gen. 2:18). Aristotle said, “Human beings are social creatures.” In his Meditation XVII, John Donne said “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” Opanin Kwadwo Kyere, a seasoned marriage counselor, in one of his speeches, “ Living with People” said, “Everybody needs somebody, somewhere, somehow, sometime.” As humans, a greater percentage of our happiness in life is going to come from our relationships with other people. How well you get along with people, and they with you, largely determines the quality of everything that happens to you. Someone said, “You can’t live any better than you can love and be loved.” We need each other. As the baby cries to the mother to be fe...