Thursday, March 13, 2008

i read sometimes


Dusty and I have been reading this book as part of our weekly "young marrieds" group on Wednesday evenings. Let me begin to say that I'm not expert on the books and such. I usually find greater entertainment from the boob tube or the ipod. With that said, I really hated the first chapter of this book. I was not expecting Thomas's portrayal of marriage to be so discouraging from the beginning. He made it sound like marriage was always difficult and that we must coupe with that fact for the rest of our lives. Luckily for my sanity's sake, the positivity exponentially increased as the chapters went on.
I think the best lessons I've learned from the book revolve around a comment he stated in chapter two. Someone asked him once if it's better to marry or to remain single. Thomas told the man, "If you want to be free to serve Jesus, definitely stay single. But if you want to become more like Jesus than it's better to get married." He continues to explain that marriage is a refining process where we are confronted with our sins daily by our partner and are forced to deal with them in order to continue in peace and love with our spouses and with God. That process helps us become more like Jesus.
Also, Thomas made a statement about divorce that I don't think I'll ever forget. As Christians we are called to love...period. If we can't love the person we chose to love, how are you going to love your neighbors, coworkers and friends? What kind of witness is that to unbelievers if we can't love our spouses?
In summary, although I was forced to read this book, I actually am enjoying it and learning important marriage lessons.

2 comments:

anne said...

Amen sister...preach on! I might have to pick this one up.

Doreen T. said...

Great summary, Kara. And even greater lessons learned! Love you & Dusty TONS!