Desiring God by John Piper (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Chapter 8 (Marriage).
Now Piper counsels us to find joy in marriage.
Basically the entire chapter may be summed up with these two sentences in Piper's concluding paragraphs: 'Wives, seek your joy in the joy of your husband by affirming and honoring his God-ordained role as leader in your relationship. Husbands, seek your joy in the joy of your wife by accepting the responsibility to lead as Christ led the church and gave himself for her.'
I love to be reminded of the greater marriage that my marriage points to every day: 'Therefore marriage is a mystery-it contains and conceals a meaning far greater than what we see on the outside. God created man male and female, and ordained marriage so that the eternal covenant relationship between Christ and his church would be imaged forth in the marriage union...The inference Paul draws from this mystery is that the roles of husband and wife in marriage are not arbitrarily assigned, but are rooted in the distinctive roles of Christ and his church. Those of us who are married need to ponder again and again how mysterious and wonderful it is that God grants us in marriage the privilege to image forth stupendous divine realities, infinitely bigger and greater than ourselves.'
If I ruin my marriage, I ruin the image of Christ's marriage reflected in my marriage and hinder the gospel's witness.
What a responsibility to keep working on my marriage!
Read Chapter 9 (Missions).
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
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