Is Love a Name?

Last year my brother and his wife asked me to write a 'reading' for their wedding. I was, of course, delighted to do this for them. They got married in a beautiful setting but as it was a Civil Ceremony, the law dictates that there can be no religious words or references used during the proceedings. The reading must be strictly non-religious and approved, in advance, by the Superintendant Registrar.



I decided to write about the nature of love in marriage and how love is not just a feeling but something that you do. Where better to find inspiration about the nature of love but from the Bible? See if you can spot the influence of Corinthians 13 in the speech that I made:

Is Love a Name?

Love, within marriage, is not just a noun, it should be a verb too.
In other words, it is not just a feeling that you experience, a name for an
emotion. It is something that you do, something that you practise.

What does it mean to practise love? It means being patient, it means being kind. If you practise love you will not be jealous or judging. Instead, you will be gracious and accepting, you will wipe the slate clean – regularly - forgiving mistakes or poor decisions. To become a master practitioner, you will think the best of the person you love, believe in them, have hope in and for them and search for the truth with them.

Practising love is something that you will do together: you will bear, you will endure, you will have faith in each other; you will laugh, enjoy and begin to learn together that love is more than just a name of a feeling.


©Nicola Morgan, February 2010