As I cast my eyes across the room on Sunday I see people who are happily married, unhappily married, happily single, unhappily single, happily remarried and unhappily divorced. Every face tells a story. And, I’ve learned, every face represents an opportunity for me to offend, hurt, ignore, misrepresent or omit. I hope you know every hurt is unintentional… My goal is always to heal and help…but in my humanity, I sometimes fail.
This week we’re thinking about the power of marriage to communicate the love of Christ and the power of the gospel to make a difference. Honestly, that is as clearly seen in divorce recovery, marital reconciliation, remarriage success, as it is in a healthy first marriage. The point is…any marriage (or singleness for that matter) can be a powerful witness for Christ.
I asked Evan Horner, our marriage and family counselor, to suggest some resources he’s found helpful. Here the ones he suggested:
*Eggerichs, Emerson. (2004). Love and Respect: The Love She Most Desires, The Respect He Desperately Needs. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
*Gottman, J. (1994). Why Marriages Succeed or Fail: and How You can Make Yours Last. New York: Simon and Schuster.
*Harley, W. F. (2001). His Needs Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage. Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell.
*Parrott, L. & Parrott, L. (2002). The Love List: Eight Little Things that Make a Big Difference in Your Marriage. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
*Stanley, S., Trathen, D., McCain, S., & Bryan, M. (1998). A Lasting Promise: A Christian Guide to Fighting for Your Marriage. SanFrancisco: Jossey Bass.
*Wright, H. N. & Oliver, G. J. (1994). How to Bring Out the Best in Your Spouse. Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Publications.
Tags: Commitment, Discipleship, Marriage, Resources, Witness
