Recipe For Romance Series

7 SENSES OF MARRIAGE : RECIPE FOR ROMANCE

JANUARY 30, 2022, 9:30AM

ED AND LISA YOUNG

ED YOUNG:

This is my wife, Lisa, we've been married for almost 40 years.

LISA YOUNG:

Just in case you didn't know. I'm not just some random girl standing up here with Ed.

ED YOUNG:

We're talking about a subject that is near and dear to everyone here. We like to think about it. We like to sing about it. We like to watch it. We like to read about it and we're talking about really an aroma, the fragrance, the aroma of romance. That's what we're going to talk about today.

Romance. What is romance and how it kind of plays out in marriage and also in this whole dating thing and how to keep the romance alive, at least right up front. Is romance an event? Because I think sometimes because I'm a guy, I tend to compartmentalize things. I'm thinking, "okay, this is my romantic life, and over here is my work life, and over there is my recreational life."

LISA YOUNG:

I told you this, as we've been working and talking about, but preparing for these messages, I said, "Ed, romance is not an event, it's an environment that we create in our home and in our marriage." So when we have this, I guess we could say a romance, like aroma.

ED YOUNG:

Oh, that's brilliant. I love that. A romance.

LISA YOUNG:

A romance. Don't you want to have an, a romance that it's-

ED YOUNG:

If there's an attorney here, we can trademark that.

LISA YOUNG:

That's trademarking. Aren't people doing that these days? Trademarking phrases?

LISA YOUNG:

Romance. It permeates every area of your home and so when you think about romance, it's not an event, it’s an environment, and it relates to scripture.

LISA YOUNG:

In 2 Corinthians 2:15, it says, "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." Our lives as Christ followers, those of us who have given our hearts to Christ and as we live each and every day, the way that we live, this lifestyle of obedience, is an aroma to God because of Jesus in our hearts and not only does it speak to God with an aroma, but it also permeates those who are saved. So, my life becomes an encouragement to other Christians and then I also am allowed the opportunity to be noticed by those who are not Christians, and they see something is different. I have to ask myself and I think you should ask yourself, what do I smell like?

ED YOUNG:

Or at least am I stinking up the joint? You know?

LISA YOUNG:

That works too. When it comes to romance between a husband and a wife, we've already talked about in our previous sessions, the fact that marriage between a man and a woman is analogous to Jesus, marriage, the bride of Christ, his church. So, this aroma principle affects can be used as you demonstrate in marriage.

ED YOUNG:

It even affects though, this kind of sounds strange, but it's like romancing the home. In other words, that our romance permeates, obviously our relationship, God wants it to and our relationship with our kids. People are dying, aren't they Lisa, to understand this and to know about this because we've talked about marriage for 32 years, unashamedly, unapologetically. We've written a lot about the subject. We even have an updated book coming out in just a couple of weeks and the reason, is marriage is the foundation is the anchor of our culture. So goes marriage, so goes everything. Think about it and God created marriage. He thought it up in the book of Genesis, the first book, the Bible. When someone says, "why get married anyway? Who thought marriage up?" God did. It's a God ordained covenant which is basically a commitment on steroids.

LISA YOUNG:

That's right. In 2018, Ed, there was a study done. I'm thinking that once we segue into COVID, a lot of studies got put on the back burner, so I'm reaching back to 2018. 84% of couples lived together versus getting married. That's saying a lot about cultures view of marriage.

ED YOUNG:

You're saying of marriage, 84% of couples lived together?

LISA YOUNG:

They were living together and weren't going to get married. They chose to live together. It shows how the trend of marriage, people don't understand that.

ED YOUNG:

Obviously, that's not working, playing house, because divorce rates have skyrocketed.

LISA YOUNG:

Another statistic is this. There is a greater percentage of divorces among those who live together before they get married.

ED YOUNG:

For the guy, it's the perfect world. Free sex, with no real commitment or responsibilities because once she doesn't act like I want her, "I'm out." Some of you are like, "Oh no, you don't know my man. He loves me for who I am." You just cut off sex and he'll bolt in a heartbeat.