"A marriage lives, paradoxically, upon those almost impossible times when it is perfectly clear to the two partners that nothing else but pure sacrificial love can hold them together." This is a phenomenal quote by Mike Mason which explains how important sacrificial love is in a marriage union.
The importance of sacrificial love in a marriage makes sense when we consider that the marriage is a picture of Christ and His church. He gave of Himself sacrificially for people to be able to be reconciled or put in a right relationship with God! If He did this for us, we should do no less for our spouses.
Mason, Mike. The Mystery of Marriage. Multnomah Books. Sisters: 1985. page 39.