Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (Heb. 13:4)

My wife, Kathy, and I witnessed the honor of long-lasting marital joy during a Valentine’s Day social of a church filled with young couples. Despite the youth of the church, an older couple sang to entertain us.

The couple sang their own version of “Do You Love Me?” from the musical Fiddler on the Roof. The characters in the original musical sing, “After twenty-five years, it’s nice to know you love me.” But this couple looked into one another’s eyes and sang, “After forty-eight years, it’s nice to know….”

When they hit the last notes of the song, the room exploded in a standing ovation. The crowd of young couples cheered an enduring love that had so powerfully encouraged us all.

Kathy and I looked around the room with tears in our eyes, knowing the hopes and struggles of so many of the young people who were cheering. Their cheers for the long marriage were a longing and a prayer for similar grace in their own lives.

The reaction of the Valentine crowd echoed the words of the writer of Hebrews, who said, “Let marriage be held in honor among all.” He also speaks of the beauty and purity of the marriage bed that blesses Christian marriage, reminding us that God’s grace always blesses by leading us in the paths that honor him and one another.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of marriage! May I honor your blessing by honoring my spouse, and by honoring your intention for others’ marital purity also.