Love Like You Mean It with Bob Lepine | Episode 49

Every year millions of men and women stand in front of their friends and families and pledge a life-long love for each other. The question is, do they know what they’re getting themselves into? The answer is often a resounding “Nope!” Mark and I sure didn’t know what we were getting into at the time we got married. Unfortunately, many people enter into marriage with unrealistic expectations and huge ideas of what their love, relationship, and marriage is going to be like. And in the end, too many end up frustrated, or even divorced.

Today, Mark and I are so excited to share a conversation with Bob Lepine to unpack a biblical understanding of what real love looks like. For years, Bob was a voice on The Family Life Today radio program and podcast, and he also is a marriage and family expert and the author of the book Love Like You Mean It. They had me on their show a few times, and now we get to flip roles! Bob’s book was transformational for Mark, and today he shares SO much practical wisdom about how to love like we really mean it.

This conversation was originally recorded as a video interview for our No More Perfect Date Night members. Each month we send out a video interview with a marriage expert to those in our Date Night family. Because this one was so impactful, we decided we wanted to share this interview with you on the podcast as well! We hope it’s an encouragement for you this week!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

My Key Takeaways:

1) You have to lace up your “work boots” to love well. If you talk to anyone that has been married for any length of time, they will tell you that love takes work! 1 Corinthians 13 is often quoted in marriage ceremonies as a whimsical perspective on love, but actually that passage is a rebuke to a church that wasn’t loving others. Love and marriage take commitment and self-sacrifice. It will require work, and it’s worth the work!

2) Marriage is about glorifying God, not making each other happy. Your spouse may be able to make you happy for a while, but eventually the stress and challenges of life will cause reality to kick in. When we pursue God together in marriage, we are actually helping each other grow closer to God and closer to one another.

3) Your love will run out if you aren’t being filled by God.  Has it seemed like you’ve run out of love for your spouse? Like the last frustrating thing they did (or didn’t do) took the last ounce of love you had in the tank? When those times happen, it’s because we are relying solely on our own love and our love can run out. We need to understand the depth of God’s love for us and receive His abundant, overflowing love. When we do that, we can love our spouse in a way that will never run out!

About Bob:

Radio and podcast listeners know Bob Lepine from his time as the co-host of FamilyLife Today, FamilyLife’s nationally syndicated radio program. He is the author of Love Like You Mean It: The Heart of a Marriage That Honors God (2020) and The Christian Husband (1999). Bob is a marriage and family expert and also serves on the Board of Directors for National Religious Broadcasters. He and his wife, Mary Ann, have five children and nine grandchildren.

 

 

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