Book Review

Summa, summa, summa time!

And nothing says summer quite like a cute beach and a good book!

A lot of us are preparing for summer vacation and looking for good reading materials to take along with us. If you fall into that category, then look no further because I have a book for you. I was recently blessed by Scott LaPierre over at scottlapierre.org with his book, Marriage God’s Way. Last year, Scott shared with us a Breakfast Bite in the form of a bible study entitled, God Commanded Adam, But The Devil Tempted Eve. Where he discusses the consequence of the fall for husbands and wives.

Now, I know, I know, I’m not married…

YET!

However, I believe preparation is so important when it comes to perfecting the life I desire to live. So if marriage is something that I desire, the only way I know to do that successfully is to prepare for it.

Marriage God’s Way is definitely a book that will aid in that preparation process.

As a single person desiring to be married one day, sometimes we can get caught up in the fantasy of what we THINK marriage is. But in his book, Scott give us biblical truths of what marriage really is and how to have a healthy Christ- centered outlook on it.

Marriage God’s Way is broken up into 8 Parts:

• Part I: Recognizing That…
• Part II: Genesis 1-3 Creation of Marriage and the Fall
• Part III: Understanding Love
• Part IV: Ephesians 5:25-31 A Husband’s Call to Agape and A Wife’s Call to Respect
• Part V: Understanding Submission
• Part VI: 1 Peter 3:1-7 A Wife’s Beauty and a Husband’s Treatment
• Part VII: 1 Corinthians 7: 1-6 A Biblical View of Intimacy
• Part VIII: Matthew 7:24-27 A Strong Foundation

Understanding Submission, Part V, is the part of the book that I enjoyed the most. Probably because this is an area that I know I can start practicing now. In this section, Scott starts by giving us biblical examples of submission outside of marriage.

• 1 Peter 2:13-17 commands believers to submit to government
• 1 Peter 2:18-25 commands slaves to submit to their masters: in our society, this would translate as employees’ submitting to employers
• 1 Peter 5:5 commands congregations to submit to their elders.

Whether you are married or not, each one of the above examples is an area that we are commanded to submit as believers in Christ.

Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed when Scott emphasized the importance of how we submit. Submitting in itself isn’t done right unless we submit with the right attitude. God cares just as much about what we do as He does, how we do it.

During this section, I was convicted to do some self-reflecting.

How have I been submitted to the authorities in my life?

What has my attitude been like in these times?

Submission, often times, is a difficult topic for some, especially in the area of marriage. Considering someone like myself, who has been single for some time now, I am often visited by the thoughts of how I would respond to certain situations if I were married desiring to honor God in the area of submission.

Let’s be honest, submission is not something that can be none existent today and easily practiced tomorrow. So it’s foolish to believe that when one gets married it is a practice that will be easily adopted. Scott has done an amazing job of explaining how the practice of submission can be implemented much easier if both the husband and the wife have developed a lifestyle of submission before entering into the union of marriage.

If you desire to be married one day, I highly recommend Marriage God’s Way. It will not only help you embrace submission now, but it will also equip you with the tools needed to have a healthy, joyful, Christ- centered relationship!