Sacred Marriage

One of my favorite things that Tyler and I do together is our couple devotions. I love the time we spend together studying scripture, talking about our marriage, and praying together. A couple months ago I bought the book Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. I have heard so many positive things about the book, so I added it to my reading list. Tyler and I are currently going through The Love Dare 365 day devotional for couples, but Tyler proposed the other night that we also read Sacred Marriage together. I was really excited to start reading through it with him. We started the book last night and had some great discussion after reading. We can't wait to continue reading over the next few weeks.

This excerpt is from the back cover of Sacred Marriage:
"Your marriage is more than a sacred covenant with another person. It is a spiritual discipline designed to help you know God better, trust him more fully, and love him more deeply.

Scores of books have been written that offer guidance for building the marriage of your dreams. But what if God’s primary intent for your marriage isn’t to make you happy . . . but holy? And what if your relationship isn’t as much about you and your spouse as it is about you and God?

Everything about your marriage--everything--is filled with prophetic potential, with the capacity for discovering and revealing Christ’s character. The respect you accord your partner; the forgiveness you humbly seek and graciously extend; the ecstasy, awe, and sheer fun of lovemaking; the history you and your spouse build with one another--in these and other facets of your marriage, Sacred Marriage uncovers the mystery of God’s overarching purpose.

This book may very well alter profoundly the contours of your marriage. It will most certainly change you. Because whether it is delightful or difficult, your marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God, and to a spiritual integrity that, like salt, seasons the world around you with the savor of Christ."

There were a couple of things in the first part of the book which really stood out to Tyler and I. Thomas writes, "A wedding calls us to our highest and best-in fact, to almost impossible-ideals. It's the way we want to live. But marriage reminds us of the daily reality of living as sinful human beings in a radically broken world." I think this is such a powerful realization. Weddings are a beautiful thing, but I often think couples get so wrapped up in planning for their wedding, that they often neglect to plan and pray for their impending marriage; this is one thing that really stood out to Tyler and I when we were planning our wedding. Don't get me wrong, we were very excited about our wedding, but we were more excited about our marriage. Thomas writes about how we live in a world that thrives off of the idea of romanticism. I love what Thomas says, "Romantic love has no elasticity to it. It can never be stretched; it simply shatters. Mature love, the kind demanded of a good marriage must stretch, as the sinful condition is such that all of us bear conflicting emotions." Thomas goes on to talk about the importance of romance in a marriage and how romance helps to strengthen and preserve a marriage, but a marriage can only thrive on mature love. It is my fervent prayer that my marriage with Tyler would be one of mature love; a love that stretches. We have only been married a short 22 months, but I can already see how God is using my marriage to reveal more of his character to me. I can't wait to continue reading Sacred Marriage and to be challenged to know God better through my relationship with my husband.