Love and Marriage

Valentine’s Day is almost here and what a great opportunity to it is to express your love for your husband or wife. Sometimes looking to the past, specifically to the godly marriages that have come before us, can be an inspiration for one’s marriage today. That said, we would recommend Credo Magazine contributor Michael A.G. Haykin and his little book, The Christian Lover: The Sweetness of Love and Marriage in the Letters of Believers. 

Here is what the book is all about:

In The Christian Lover: The Sweetness of Love and Marriage in the Letters of Believers, Dr. Michael A. G. Haykin declares that “reading expressions of love from the past can be a helpful way of responding to the frangibility of Christian marriage in our day.” To that end, he brings together letters from one or both parties in twelve significant relationships from church history. The correspondents include such notables as Martin Luther (writing to his wife Katie), and John Calvin (expressing to friends his grief over the death of his wife Idelette). Lesser-known writers include Helmuth von Moltke, who wrote to his wife as he faced execution as the hands of the Nazis in 1945. The contents range from courtship communications to proposals of marriage to final words before dying, but most have to do with the events of everyday life. Dr. Haykin, professor of church history and biblical spirituality at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., provides an introduction to each set of letters and draws practical applications for today’s believers based on the expressions of love made by the correspondents. In the end, The Christian Lover is a celebration of marriage, an intimate window into the thoughts of men and women in love with both God and one another.

Another book worth checking out is Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God, by Timothy and Kathy Keller.

Based on the sermon series by Timothy Keller, this book shows everyone—Christians, skeptics, singles, long-time married couples, and those about to be engaged—the vision of what marriage should be according to the Bible.

Modern culture would make you believe that everyone has a soul-mate; that romance is the most important part of a successful marriage; that your spouse is there to help you realize your potential; that marriage does not mean forever, but merely for now; and that starting over after a divorce is the best solution to seemingly intractable marriage issues. But these modern-day assumptions are wrong.

Timothy Keller, with insights from Kathy, his wife of thirty-seven years, shows marriage to be a glorious relationship that is also misunderstood and mysterious. The Meaning of Marriage offers instruction on how to have a successful marriage, and is essential reading for anyone who wants to know God and love more deeply in this life.

Here is a short video of the couple discussing the book: