Holy Matrimony Batman…!

In discussing an approach to marriage with various individuals I will oftentimes receive as many different viewpoints as there are people.  Some might say marriage is about fulfillment.  Others may say that marriage is about honoring God (of course, that is true ultimately).  Others may say that marriage is about loving someone (true in part). 

In fact, there are so many different philosophies and strategies on marriage, I have become almost numb to the volumes of books and studies that address the subject.  That being the case, a marriage book has to be pretty good, thoroughly biblical (rather than psychological), and desperately practical (putting it into practice) for me to take serious notice of it.  I am almost through reading just such a book.

Sacred Marriage is a book that examines the idea that God places us in a marriage as much to make us holy as to make us happy.  In fact, the subtitle of the book is ”What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?”  The book confronts us with the very biblical idea that, ultimately, God glorifies His name through making His children holy.  Marriage is a major part of that process.

   Gary Thomas is a writer and the founder/director of the Center for Evangelical Spirituality, which is a speaking and writing ministry that combines Scripture, history and the Christian classics. Some of his books include, Sacred Influence, Sacred Parenting, Sacred Marriage, and Sacred Pathways, Devotions for a Sacred Marriage, Devotions for Sacred Parenting, Authentic Faith (winner of the Gold Medallion Award in 2003), The Glorious Pursuit, , and Seeking the Face of God.  Thomas’ goal is to get God’s people to see God’s purpose in all aspects of life. 

In Sacred Marriage God’s people are challenged to consider their matrimony as a means of forming more into the image of God.  As Thomas states in the first chapter, “We are not out for simple answers — three steps to more intimate communication, or six steps to a more exciting love life — because this is not a book that seeks to tell you how to have a happier marriage.  This is a book that tells you how we can take the challenges, joys, struggles, and celebrations of marriage to draw closer to God and to grow in Christian character.”

Very rarely do I recommend books on marriage, other than Ephesians 5.  Yet, after finishing most of this book, I would highly recommend Sacred Marriage (www.christianbook.com) and its idea that matrimony is as much about holiness as happiness.