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sdlindakim's review against another edition
5.0
Tim Keller never ceases to amaze me with his prolific works and his profound insight into marriage. Accompanied by his wife, Kathy Keller, this book will now be deemed by me as the holy grail of marriage books due to the brilliance of painting a picture of marriage that is glorious, joyous, heartwrenching, and sanctifying, which is what God intended marriage to be.
One of my favorite passages on marriage is in the chapter called The Mission of Marriage.
In marriage, each person says to the other, " I see all your flaws, imperfections, weaknesses, dependencies. But underneath them all I see growing the person God wants you to be."
If you don't see your mate's deep flaws and weaknesses and dependencies, you're not even in the game. But if you don't get excited about the person your spouse has already grown into and will become, you aren't tapping into the power of marriage as spiritual friendship. The goal is to see something absolutely ravishing that God is making of the beloved. You see even now flashes of glory. You want to help your spouse become the person God wants him or her to be.
When two Christians who fully understand this stand before the minister all decked out in their wedding finery, they realize they're not just playing dress up. What they're saying is that someday they are going to be standing not before the minister but before the Lord. And they will turn to see each other without spot and blemish. And they hope to hear God say, "Well done, good and faithful servants. Over the years you have lifted one another up to me. You have sacrificed for one another. You held one another up with prayer and with thanksgiving. You confronted each other. You rebuked each other. You hugged and you loved each other and continually pushed each other toward me. And now look at you. You're radiant"
Romance, sex, laughter, and plain fun are the by products of this process of sanctification, refinement, glorification. Those things are important, but they can't keep the marriage going through years and years of ordinary life. What keeps the marriage going is your commitment to your spouse's holiness. Your committed to his or her beauty. You're committed to his greatness and perfection. You're committed to her honesty and passion for the things of God. That's your job as a spouse. Any lesser goal that that, any smaller purpose, and you're just playing at being married.
One of my favorite passages on marriage is in the chapter called The Mission of Marriage.
In marriage, each person says to the other, " I see all your flaws, imperfections, weaknesses, dependencies. But underneath them all I see growing the person God wants you to be."
If you don't see your mate's deep flaws and weaknesses and dependencies, you're not even in the game. But if you don't get excited about the person your spouse has already grown into and will become, you aren't tapping into the power of marriage as spiritual friendship. The goal is to see something absolutely ravishing that God is making of the beloved. You see even now flashes of glory. You want to help your spouse become the person God wants him or her to be.
When two Christians who fully understand this stand before the minister all decked out in their wedding finery, they realize they're not just playing dress up. What they're saying is that someday they are going to be standing not before the minister but before the Lord. And they will turn to see each other without spot and blemish. And they hope to hear God say, "Well done, good and faithful servants. Over the years you have lifted one another up to me. You have sacrificed for one another. You held one another up with prayer and with thanksgiving. You confronted each other. You rebuked each other. You hugged and you loved each other and continually pushed each other toward me. And now look at you. You're radiant"
Romance, sex, laughter, and plain fun are the by products of this process of sanctification, refinement, glorification. Those things are important, but they can't keep the marriage going through years and years of ordinary life. What keeps the marriage going is your commitment to your spouse's holiness. Your committed to his or her beauty. You're committed to his greatness and perfection. You're committed to her honesty and passion for the things of God. That's your job as a spouse. Any lesser goal that that, any smaller purpose, and you're just playing at being married.
cyborgjjw's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting outlook on a psycholohical and emotional view using biblical references.
katharine2k's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
erin_franck's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
standard_shan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
this book is very grounded in scripture and offers solid, faith-based advice on how to have a healthy Christian marriage. the one thing I did not like was that there were a couple of chapters that started with a controversial statement and then explained it. While I understand this adds to the tension and can pull readers in, I don't think a book about Christian marriage needs to have tension.
camebrew's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Couldn’t have picked a better, more practical and spiritually forming book than this for premarital counseling. Loved it.