The Meaning of Marriage by Tim and Kathy Keller

How long is The Meaning of Marriage?

The Meaning of Marriage is 244 pages long.

How easy is The Meaning of Marriage to read?

This book is not difficult to read, the Kellers write clearly, humourously, and applicably. That said, it is an extremely challenging book to read because it is so thought-provoking and convicting.

The chapters are quite long but each chapter is broken down into sub chapters that are no longer than 4 pages, so it is easy to pick up and put down as need be.

What will I get out of reading The Meaning of Marriage?

This book is jam packed full of inspiring biblical wisdom on marriage with lots of personal illustrations and application. The first half of the book looks at the source of marriage: it’s power, essence, and mission from our Creator. The second half of the book looks at the practicalities of Christian marriage: gender differences, gender roles, sex, and others.

This is not a book just for married people. The Kellers’ introduction includes the headings: A Book for Married People, A Book for Unmarried People, and A Book about the Bible, which is a perfect summary. There is wisdom in here for all people and situations. There is a chapter on the blessing of singleness, there is application for all human relationships and our relationship with God throughout, there is advice for parents teaching their children on relationships, and there is wisdom for how church communities can honour both marriage and singleness in their congregation.

Is The Meaning of Marriage good?

I joked with a friend that this book is the ultimate authority on biblical marriage. It is not, the Bible is. However, the Kellers’ exposition of classic marriage passages, such as Ephesians 5, and their exploration of contemporary marriage concerns are phenomenal. Every time I finished reading a section of this book, I found myself chatting to my wife about it, such was I inspired by it.

This is not simply an inspiring and informative guide on biblical marriage though. It is written with such a worshipful heart for the love God has for us, that our lives (married or not) are called to model. Reading this book leaves you praising the Lord with the authors and convicted to mirror that love better.

If you are looking for a fantastic and comprehensive book on Christian marriage, there are not many better books, if any.

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