In almost every great love story or movie you have ever seen, the men speak of a love worth dying for -- and many do sacrifice themselves for that love.  However, that is not the greatest sacrifice a man can make.

(A pause for some scoffing.)

Don't get me wrong, dying for someone you love is a great sacrifice.  But dying isn’t the greatest sacrifice -- living is.  To make this even more confusing, Jesus' death for us on the Cross was the greatest sacrifice.  But to clarify my point, what made His death the greatest sacrifice is not the fact that He died, but that He lives.  Jesus wrestled with death for three days and beat it and then came back.

He came back because He loves us.  He would face anything for us.  With that, we too, as men, should be willing to face anything for our women.

Dying is very easy; it's a one-time-only deal.  Having the courage to jump in front of a bullet or a runaway Volkswagen to protect your woman is definitely an honorable move, and one every true man should be willing to make.  But that's not the only sacrifice we should be willing to make.  Yes, we must protect our women, but we must also live for them until the moment comes (if it does) when we must make that sacrifice. 

Living is hard.  No one said it would be easy.  We face difficulties daily.  We must love, uplift, comfort and even entertain our women, all while having the courage to get back up and continue to live when life hits us right in the face.  The vows we make at our weddings state this specifically.

In the name of God, I take you to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.
(The Christian Groom’s Wedding Vows)

To those of you who are not married, this should be the one promise that you make -- and do everything in your power to uphold -- to your future wife, to yourself, and to God.  This is not an empty challenge directed to everyone except myself.  I, too, am holding myself accountable to this challenge and will make and keep this solemn promise if God so chooses to deign me worthy of taking a wife.

Michael Reese is a graduate of Ball State University in Indiana.