The Meaning of Marriage: A Couple's Devotional

Zusatztext Praise for Timothy Keller and his books "A C. S. Lewis for the twenty-first century." Newsweek "At Redeemer Presbyterian and in several books! Keller shaped a vision of Evangelicalism that de-emphasizes politics and stresses care for the poor! personal sacrifice! and inclusiveness across ethnicity and class." Fortune ! naming Timothy Keller one of the "World's 50 Greatest Leaders" Informationen zum Autor Timothy Keller started Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City with his wife, Kathy, and their three sons. Dr. Keller is also the cofounder of Redeemer City to City, an organization that helps national church leaders around the world reach and minister in global cities. He is the author of The Prodigal Prophet and The Reason for God , among others. Kathy Keller received her MA in theological studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Kathy cowrote The Meaning of Marriage and The Songs of Jesus with Tim. This is their fourth collaboration. Klappentext From New York Times bestselling authors Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller comes a gorgeously packaged daily devotional that takes us on year-long journey into discovering the meaning of marriage Marriage is the most profound human relationship there is. Coming to know and love your spouse is one of the most rewarding and wondrous things we can experience in life. But it is also one of the most difficult and painful. In this 365-day devotional, Timothy Keller and his wife of forty-three years, Kathy Keller, share powerful instructions on how to have a successful marriage. The Kellers draw from and expand upon lessons they first introduced in their book The Meaning of Marriage , offering stories, daily scriptures, and prayer prompts that will inspire anyone who wants to know God and love more deeply in this life. INTRODUCTION Several years ago Tim and I wrote a book, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God. We discussed a number of issues related to knowing and loving your spouse in the context of a marriage grounded in the Christian faith. Many people have told us how much the book has helped them, and nothing makes us happier. It was the fruit of hard-won experience, and God promises that what he gives to one is meant for the benefit of all. It is not necessary to have read that book in order to use this one. But it is worth recapping some of the basic themes of The Meaning of Marriage . The main problem every marriage faces is the self-centeredness in both spouse's hearts. Traditional cultures often dealt with this by browbeating people about their sin. Modern culture has virtually enshrined it, talking about Me- Marriages that last only as long as both parties feel the marriage is meeting their needs without too much exertion. The solution, however, is the gospel of Christ, for it both humbles us and exalts us at the same time. An equally crucial theme is that the essence of your marriage is a covenant, a binding promise. A covenant is neither a cold contract nor merely an emotional pledge. It is giving your whole life to each other, not just physically but also legally, financially, emotionally, spiritually. The binding, legal commitment creates an unparalleled space for trust, vulnerability, and intimacy. Many modern people think the essence of marriage is a romantic feeling, but rather it is the marriage promise that keeps you together through the ups and downs of feeling, which over time provides a depth of love that could not be attained any other way. We see marriage as friendship-with-a-mission. While ancient and traditional marriages gave priority to the roles of parents, and modern marriage elevates the desires of romantic lovers, we argued that, along with all the ot...

Praise for Timothy Keller and his books

"A C. S. Lewis for the twenty-first century."
—Newsweek

"At Redeemer Presbyterian and in several books, Keller shaped a vision of Evangelicalism that de-emphasizes politics and stresses care for the poor, personal sacrifice, and inclusiveness across ethnicity and class."
—Fortune, naming Timothy Keller one of the "World's 50 Greatest Leaders"

Autorentext

Timothy Keller started Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City with his wife, Kathy, and their three sons. Dr. Keller is also the cofounder of Redeemer City to City, an organization that helps national church leaders around the world reach and minister in global cities. He is the author of The Prodigal Prophet *and *The Reason for God, among others.

Kathy Keller received her MA in theological studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Kathy cowrote The Meaning of Marriage and The Songs of Jesus with Tim. This is their fourth collaboration.

Klappentext

From New York Times bestselling authors Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller comes a gorgeously packaged daily devotional that takes us on year-long journey into discovering the meaning of marriage

Marriage is the most profound human relationship there is. Coming to know and love your spouse is one of the most rewarding and wondrous things we can experience in life. But it is also one of the most difficult and painful. In this 365-day devotional, Timothy Keller and his wife of forty-three years, Kathy Keller, share powerful instructions on how to have a successful marriage. The Kellers draw from and expand upon lessons they first introduced in their book The Meaning of Marriage, offering stories, daily scriptures, and prayer prompts that will inspire anyone who wants to know God and love more deeply in this life.

Leseprobe

INTRODUCTION 

 

 
Several years ago Tim and I wrote a book, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God. We discussed a number of issues related to knowing and loving your spouse in the context of a marriage grounded in the Christian faith. Many people have told us how much the book has helped them, and nothing makes us happier. It was the fruit of hard-won experience, and God promises that what he gives to one is meant for the benefit of all.

It is not necessary to have read that book in order to use this one. But it is worth recapping some of the basic themes of The Meaning of Marriage. The main problem every marriage faces is the self-centeredness in both spouse’s hearts. Traditional cultures often dealt with this by browbeating people about their sin. Modern culture has virtually enshrined it, talking about “Me-
Marriages” that last only as long as both parties feel the marriage is meeting their needs without too much exertion. The solution, however, is the gospel of Christ, for it both humbles us and exalts us at the same time.

An equally crucial theme is that the essence of your marriage is a covenant, a binding promise. A covenant is neither a cold contract nor merely an emotional pledge. It is giving your whole life to each other, not just physically but also legally, financially, emotionally, spiritually. The binding, legal commitment creates an unparalleled space for trust, vulnerability, and intimacy. Many modern people think the essence of marriage is a romantic feeling, but rather it is the marriage promise that keeps you together through the ups and downs of feeling, which over time provides a depth of love that could not be attained any other way.

We see marriage as friendship-with-a-mission. While ancient and traditional marriages gave priority to the roles of parents, and modern marriage elevates the desires of romantic lovers, we argued that, along with all the other factors, spouses need to be best friends. Friendship, however, needs to be about something, and in a Christian marriage it needs to be about spiritual growth and each spouse helping the other to grow into Christlikeness. If we aim at holiness for each other, happiness w…