SACRED MARRIAGE by GARY THOMAS (BOOK REVIEW)

After my office (Shalom Delhi) relocation, I’ve started spending many of my time traveling in Delhi metro to reach my office and home too. My friend Persis ( i called her soulmate sister) therefore gave me a book last month to read while traveling. Since the day I started reading that book, I can’t help but realize how in odd places and circumstances, we can always create that environment to learn and grow. SACRED MARRIAGE by Gary Thomas has indeed attained the rank of a contemporary classic. The unusual premise of the book sets a powerful ground breaking perspective on “What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?"  A thought-provoking and challenging book where the writer treats marriage with a respect far greater toward God than for happiness which is fleeting, and that makes this book beautiful and profound. 

Gary Thomas’s excellent conversational skill in writing was so obvious from the way how the first sentence was formed till the last word written in the last 13^th chapter of the bestseller’s masterpiece. All the 13^th Chapters are critically presented and profoundly written. It almost sounded like a beautiful story book where you can relate to many of the human stories Gary has mention.

“Faithful participation in God’s kingdom invites and encourages others as we serve; it doesn’t diminish them.” The evangelical world tends to value “accomplishers,” people who get things done. The danger of this is that spouses often pay the biggest price for some of the accomplishments, and “true” spirituality can easily suffer as a result are some of the realities we faces and that makes Gary’s book more relevant even in our own professional and personal context. However the twist is this, when our marriage becomes our primary pursuit and treasure, our delight in the relationship will be crippled by fear, possessiveness and self-centeredness. The analogy of Christ and his church is the very foundation on which a true Christian marriage is based. From the practice of forgiveness to the beautiful physical intimacy, from sacred servant hood to the sacred history you and your spouse create together, the book embarks a very reflective journey with so much of possibility and potential for discovering and revealing Christ’s character. Personally, to look at marriage through the lens of holiness began to put it into an entirely a new perspective for me. Indeed marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with our holy God.

The good news is, this is a book that looks and points beyond marriage. Building Christ like character is the main theme; marriage was simply the context because whether married or not, our primary goal is to please God and grow in that Christ like character. You don’t necessarily need to be married to read this book. Every believer can relate well with what the award winning author has prayerfully written. A must read for all believers. The book doesn’t at all make you feel guilty; instead it allows you reclaim your privilege and spiritual blessings God has intended. For me it was absolutely worth the long metro ride.