Coupling

What is it that makes two people a “Couple”?

Usually a casual date may be referred to as a couple, such as “the couple at the next table” but a Couple acknowledges something more significant. After thinking about it for a while, I decided that when two people present themselves to other as a Couple that is the deciding factor. It’s similar to the old concept of common-law marriage; if you tell the world you’re a married couple, you are.

Some people enter into serial Coupleships. A person may have a dating relationship, be engaged, or married on a sequential basis. Relationships may be with different partners. Sadly, a person may be married to one individual, but be Coupled to someone else.

The ideal, in my mind, are two people who are committed to each other and to their relationship at a higher level than they present to others. The best example might be the married Couple who are truly bound together, well aware of each other’s imperfections who still share the good, the bad and the ugly. Their private commitment is to love and support one another without question and without limit.

How are some Couples able to achieve this? I think they cheat and have a Couple of three. They tend to have a relationship in which God is the center through which their love and commitment to one another flows. They love God first, and happily take a close second place. In this way, God is neither a distraction nor a competitor, but an integral part of their relationship. Since God’s love is perfect, iIf their love for one another is linked to and modeled on God’s love, it I no longer merely a worldly love, but one that aspires to otherworldy.