Our couples cell group is reading/studying a book by Gary Thomas called Sacred Marriage. This book is really great. I thought I would do a little blog series on it.
The first Chapter is titled "The Greatest Challenge in the World - A Call to Holiness more than Happiness". Thomas says "what if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy". At first I couldn't wrap my brain around this, but after a while it started to make sense. If God uses our experiences to shape us into the person he wants us to become, then marriage is a perfect tool.
A few quotes from the Thomas' book:
"Any situation that calls me to confront my selfishness has enormous spiritual value".
"Being married forces you to face some character issues you'd never have to face otherwise".
"If I really wanted to see God transform me from the inside out, I'd need to concentrate on changing MYSELF rather than on changing my Spouse".
"We need to remind ourselves of the ridiculousness of looking for something from other humans that only God can provide".
"We can use marriage to grow in our service, obedience, character, pursuit, and love of God".
I have found this first chapter to be very interesting. I had never thought of my marriage in this way at all. I learned a ton just from the 1st chapter.
Thoughts or Comments??????
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2 comments:
I love books that encourage me in marriage! I'm convinced it's about holiness and not happiness. Not that God doesn't bless us with happiness IN marriage but I've realized it's about God and not about me. I need that reinforcement often! Great quotes!
Frankly, it is this kind of thinking that has saved my marriage. I feel as though if I ever walked away from my marriage I would be walking away from Jesus. Being married is the best place to work out my salvation. Thanks Kim.
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