Tim Keller, a prominent preacher and New York Times bestselling author, whom Dallas Willard called one of the most notable pastors of our time.
Based on a series of sermons he delivered from the pulpit, this book presents the big picture of a desirable marriage as taught in the Bible to everyone, whether Christians or atheists, single men and women, couples who have been married for a long time, or brides and grooms-to-be.


Modern culture instills in us the idea that everyone has a soul mate, that romance is the most important factor in a happy marriage, that a spouse's role is to help you bring out your potential and realize your dreams, that marriage is not about "until the day you die," but only "now," and that if your relationship hits a wall, the best thing to do is get a quick divorce and start fresh.
But it gives us a glimpse into how far the families that dominate this age have departed from God's principles.


Using Scripture as his guide and the insightful interpretation of his wife of thirty-seven years, Kathy Keller, Tim Keller shows that God created marriage to bring joy to our lives.
It also reveals that the relationship between husband and wife is incredibly mysterious, but also full of misunderstandings and delusions.
If you want to know God and love Him more deeply, this book will provide you with a clear interpretation of the Bible's teachings and invaluable teachings for a successful marriage.

The Supreme Creator of all marriages, binds your hearts together.
(William Shakespeare, Henry V)

A book for married people!
This book can be likened to a tree with three roots that extend deep into the ground.
The first is his 37-year marriage with his wife, Cathy.
My wife not only helped me a lot in writing this book, she also wrote Chapter 6 herself.
My wife and I first met through my sister-in-law, Susan, who was studying with me at Bucknell University.
My sister-in-law often talked to my wife about me and to me about my wife.
CS
My wife, who was deeply influenced by Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, urged my sister to recommend it to me.
I was quite moved while reading the book, and C.
I also looked up and read other books by S. Lewis.
In 1972, my wife and I both entered Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary on Boston's North Shore.
And it wasn't long before I realized that there was an "invisible thread" between us that Lewis said made us close friends, or more.


As you may have noticed, the books you truly love are tied together by an 'invisible string'.
Even if you can't put it into words, you probably know better than anyone what common traits make you love them.
…the moment you finally meet someone who gives you a certain ‘feeling’, that is… someone who recognizes a certain longing that has been in a corner of your heart since birth, a lifelong friendship is formed.


Our friendship led to a romance, an engagement, a fragile honeymoon, and a tested, durable, and fulfilling marriage.
But my current life is merely a product of my family history, which has been filled with many twists and turns, including the 'pearls before swine debate', the 'poopy diaper war', and 'smashing the dinnerware set I bought for my wedding'.
There were various incidents at every milestone on the bumpy and arduous road to a happy marriage.
Like everyone else, we found that married life was much harder than we thought.
I realized it with my whole body.
The wedding ceremony concluded with a march to the hymn “How Firm a Foundation.”

At the time, I had no idea how accurately the lyrics expressed the truth about marriage, which only becomes strong after going through a arduous ordeal.


After the fiery test, there is a long way to go,
May boundless grace flow and overflow within you.

My hard work is blessed because I am with you.

I will wash away your deep pain and cleanse you.


This book is a guide for those who find each day with their spouse a new challenge, and who hope not to be crushed by the "fiery test" of marriage, but rather to grow through it.


A book for the unmarried!
The second source of inspiration for this book comes from my pastoral experience leading a church with thousands of single, unmarried members in a large city with millions of single men and women.
Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan is a rare megachurch in that its membership has been overwhelmingly single since its founding.
When the number of churchgoers had just passed 4,000, I asked a famous church consulting expert.
“How many churches have more than 3,000 single members?” the consultant answered.
all.
“As far as I know, this is the only church.”
In the late 1980s, while serving in the heart of New York City, I was struck by how deeply entrenched Western culture's feelings about marriage were.
So I began to listen to the opposing views that were prevalent throughout society: that marriage was fundamentally a matter of property and ownership, that it was extremely fluid and changeable, that it was nothing more than an institution that obliterated and oppressed women's individual identity, that it was incompatible with the natural human psychology, and that it was nothing more than a "marriage certificate" that unnecessarily complicated love.
However, behind these opposing views, we discover that each person's negative experiences from getting married and starting a family are clashing sharply with each other.

In the fall of 1991, shortly after I began my ministry in New York City, I preached a nine-week series of messages on marriage.
There has never been a sermon that has provoked such a heated response and heated debate.
Before I even cut the tape for the first sermon in the series, I had to explain at length why I spend so much time teaching about marriage to the singles who make up the majority of my church.
Today's single men and women have a very realistic yet glorious vision of the reality and possibility of marriage.
The intention was that it should be so.

In preparing to write this article, I read countless Christian books on marriage.
Most of them focused on helping married couples navigate specific challenges.
While this book will be incredibly useful in that regard, its primary goal is to present the Bible's view of marriage to both couples and singles.
For couples, it is about correcting wrong views that can ruin their married life, and for single men and women, it is about helping them to stop having excessive expectations about marriage or being overly dismissive of it.
It will also be of great help to readers in drawing their own picture of a better spouse.

---From the text