2021 Reading: Q4 & Final Summary

As I write this, there are still more than four and half hours left in 2021 in the time zone where I am sitting, and two hours more than that at my usual residence, so it is entirely possible at least one more volume will be added to my 2021 Reading Log before the new year commences. But I am content to draft the fourth quarter review and yearly summary now. It is entirely possible I will have more to say next year about the volume that remains incomplete at the moment, but it is unnecessary to say anymore about it here.

I previously posted reviews of my reading in the first quarter, second quarter, and third quarter of the year, as well as a description of my plan for reading in 2021 and the way in which I have recorded the books I read. The plan for 2022 has already been written, but its description will be posted in a separate note.

I completed 36 books during the fourth quarter after finishing 25 titles in quarter one, 21 in quarter two, and 33 in quarter three. The total volumes finished for 2021 stands at 115. While I expected a drop-off in my total volumes read in the fourth quarter, the opposite occurred. My reading pace increased during the second half of the year, a trend that I hope bodes well for 2022 when I anticipate several new challenges to my regular reading.

 

Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4
Jan: 7	Apr: 8	July: 10	Oct: 12
Feb: 6	May: 7	Aug: 14	Nov: 6
Mar: 12	June: 6	Sep: 9	Dec: 18
Total: 25	Total: 21	Total: 33	Total: 36
Total for 2021: 115

 

My fourth quarter reading included ten works of theology (8 in December alone), one volume of philosophy, four classics, one work on current events, and three biographies. I finished the year with 32 works of theology, 4 of philosophy, 4 of history, 18 classics, 4 on current events, 1 on ministry, 9 biographies, 8 on personal development, and 17 which I re-read yearly. None of the volumes are listed in multiple categories which creates one of the challenges in logging reading as I have in 2021. Many volumes could fit under multiple headings--the distinction between theology and philosophy or current events and ministry are not always easy to identify. I decided to list each volume once under the most representative category.

 

Category	2021 Goal	2021 Actual
Theology	12	32
Philosophy	12	4
History	12	4
Classics	12	18
Current Events	8	4
Ministry	4	1
Biography	4	9
Personal Development	4	8
Re-reads	18	17

 

I am content with the distribution of my reading in 2021. My only disappointment is in the area of philosophy and history; however, several of the works I categorized as Theology could also be placed under Philosophy, and I more than doubled the number of Biographies I originally planned to read, all of which could also fit under the heading of History. I realized early in the year that Current Events and Ministry are not useful categories for much of my regular reading. Some attention to each of these areas is necessary, but my soul (to say nothing of my work) is better served by feeding on Theology, History, Philosophy, and Classics. I continue to urge and encourage those who wish to read more and more profitably to adopt a strategy and plan for reading. My specific plan is adjusted every year, but I have found that simply having a plan and recording my yearly reading for the last several years has been immensely helpful.

 

Here are three highlights from the fourth quarter that deserve special mention.

First, Neil Postman’s The Disappearance of Childhood is the third book by the philosopher of technology I have read, and while Technopoly remains my favorite, this one also gave me a lot to think about. Postman is writing as a secularist, yet his insights are profound. There are a number of ideas in this volume worth developing, and I expect I will revisit it at some point in the near future. Postman postulates that popularization of the written word largely created what we think of as childhood and that the pervasiveness of digital media is causing childhood to disappear. His thesis is fascinating, compelling, and useful.

Second, Iain Murray’s The Puritan Hope has been on my shelf for a couple of years, but I never got around to reading it. I only regret waiting so long to do so. It is certainly one of my favorites of this year. A work of historical theology, Murray discusses the eschatological optimism of the Puritans. While disagreeing among themselves on certain points of exegesis and expectations for the future, the volume manifests the consistent hopefulness and confidence our Puritan fathers had in the power of Christ and the outworking of gospel ministry.

Third, C. H. Spurgeon’s John Ploughman’s Talk was witty, winsome, and wise. I laughed out loud repeatedly while reading it and sent many excerpts to elders, deacons, and friends. Spurgeon steps into the character of John Ploughman, a plain-spoken Christian with a gift for discernment and description. Though I would quibble with a couple of minor jabs he takes at Presbyterians, the work is thoroughly delightful, entertaining, and useful. I highly recommend it.

As I look back over the master list of books I read in 2021, I see many that I enjoyed and profited from that have gone unmentioned in these reviews. Some are not ones I would recommend to a general audience, being more specific in their target readers or content. Others were enjoyable or helpful for more personal reasons. But I am thankful for (almost) all of them. Those I profited from the most will probably be reread in the next few years, and those that are not might not have been worth reading at all. Every year the list of books I reread grows and the number of new volumes I read diminishes. This is by design. I am reading today to find the handful of books I want to reread in my final days. But life is only a vapor, and it is more likely that I will continue to reread books without realizing that I am doing so during my final days. I cannot know how many volumes I have left to read in my life, so I aspire to choose wisely and to spend what minutes and hours I have left reading the books that have been my best teachers and have most inspired me. I hope in some way these brief reflections will help and inspire you as well in pursuing a more disciplined and satisfying reading life. --JME

Thanksgiving 2021

Today the United States pauses for a day of thanksgiving. But since our society has largely jettisoned the concept of a divine governor to whom we owe thanks, the holy-day has become, in most cases, a festival of gluttony, football, and self-recrimination. Secularists will feel undirected gratitude for the happy accidents of prosperity in their primate existence which stand in contrast to the sea of pointlessness which characterizes their daily lives. Social justice warriors will spend the day feeling superior to other people as they lament the colonization, exploitation, and racism upon which this nation was founded. Many people will give no thought at all to the day beyond being thankful not to be at work. They will express their joy in a day of leisure by gorging themselves on food and intoxicating themselves with alcohol before capping the day off with heartburn, nausea, and a hangover. Unbelievers have all the fun.

As Christians we know that our God is the Giver of every good and perfect gift. We owe thanks to him for all the good that we enjoy in this world. Therefore believers should not observe Thanksgiving the way unbelievers do. The Lord may not have consecrated the fourth Thursday in November as a holy day of thanksgiving, but he has commanded his saints to give thanks, and while we ought at all times to do so, it is good and proper especially to do so when the civil magistrate sets aside a particular day for that purpose. So eat the fat, drink the sweet, sing the hymns of Zion, and give thanks to the God of heaven. Make this day one of holy, grateful feasting, and as you eat and drink or whatever you do today, do it to the glory of God. --JME

Preface to the 2021 Advent Series

Every year at ROPC we preach an “Advent series” during the Christmas season from the last Sunday in November until December 25th. Some Presbyterians are vexed by this and describe it as papist and a product of human tradition, but the Continental Reformed churches have upheld the value of the “evangelical feast days,” i.e. those days which historically commemorated significant events in redemptive history recorded in Scripture: Christmas, Good Friday, Christ’s Resurrection, Ascension, and Pentecost.[1] Our yearly Advent series focuses attention on biblical texts and themes related to the Lord’s Incarnation and first Advent. These are truths the Church ought to remember, meditate upon, and celebrate at all times, and there is no biblical warrant for spurning such celebration during the winter months of the year.[2]

This year our Advent studies will be divided into two parts. In the morning services each week, I will be preaching a series on biblical theology related to the typology of Eve, Mary, and God’s promise to bring salvation and blessing out of the barrenness of sin and judgment. In the evening services, Dane will be unpacking the doctrine of the Incarnation summarized in the Larger Catechism questions 36-42. It is hoped that these two series will complement one another, helping us all to better understand and appreciate both the poetry and the propositions by which God has made his salvation known.

I should say a few things about the morning series before it begins lest it be misunderstood. The Roman church has made much of Mary, and much of what they have said about her and the devotion arising from it is plainly unbiblical, even idolatrous. If Rome has said too much about the mother of our Lord, then many Protestants have said too little. It is not uncommon for evangelicals to shun ancient language that is creedal, thoroughly biblical, and ought to be uncontroversial--such as referring to Mary as Theotokos or Mother of God. This is an overreaction against Roman errors, but orthodoxy and piety are not well-served by steering into the ditch on the other side of the road.

The name Theotokos (God-Bearer) was used to refer to Mary by the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, long before the superstitious errors of Rome had grown to their present proportions.[3] If some think we ought to reject such language now given the misuse Rome makes of it, it should be noted this was not the position of our Reformed fathers even after the Council of Trent. Francis Turretin affirms:

“XI. Mary is rightly called the Mother of God (theotokos) in the concrete and specifically because she brought forth him who is also God, but not in the abstract and reduplicatively as God. Although this is not expressly stated in the Scriptures, still it is sufficiently intimated when she is called the mother of the Lord (Lk. 1:43) and the mother of Immanuel. If the blessed virgin brought nothing to the person of the Logos (Logou) absolutely considered, still she can be said to have brought something to the person of the incarnate Logos (Logou) economically considered, inasmuch as she gave the human nature which he took into the unity of person. 

“XII. The title Mother of God given to the virgin was perverted by superstitious men into an occasion of idolatry… Although, I say, this most gross error either arose from or was increased by this occasion, it derogates nothing from the truth because the abuse and error of the papists ought not to take away the lawful use of this name.” --Institutes of Elenctic Theology Vol. 2, 13.7.11–12, p. 320 (emp. added)

Even more recently, Geerhardus Vos wrote at the beginning of the 20th century:

“It must in fact be said: Mary gave birth to God (according to His human nature); that is to say, the subject, who is God, has undergone the process of being born by the Virgin Mary.” --Geerhardus Vos, Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 3, 61

We should lament both the idolatrous excess of Rome which terms Mary a Co-Mediatrix in God’s work of redemption to whom the Church may address prayers as well as the Protestant reactionary ambivalence toward a servant of God so greatly favored and used to bring salvation to earth. R. C. Sproul observed in a sermon:

“Because of… the heretical veneration Rome has given to Mary over the centuries, Protestants tend to flee so far in the other direction that we almost despise this one who was highly favored by the Lord, who was filled with the grace of God, and who was a model of submission to the authority of God Himself.” --R. C. Sproul, “Mary’s Fiat” (Nov. 13, 2011) https://www.ligonier.org/learn/sermons/marys-fiat

In that same sermon, Sproul decries and denies any parallel that may be drawn between Mary and Eve in the history of redemption, and so further explanation is needed to justify what we hope to introduce and explore this year. Simply stated, Rome’s errors and superstitions regarding Mary became possible because her role in redemptive history is so significant. There are many parallels that may be drawn from the pages of Scripture between Mary and Eve as well as many other women, wives, and mothers in Israel that lived in between. These parallels are neither an exercise in cloud-watching nor a manifestation of covert Roman Catholicism; they are observations of biblical typology in unison with the historical Church. Just as it is unnecessary (and unwise) to reject the language of Theotokos because of misguided devotion to Mary, it is likewise unnecessary and unhelpful to deny the many obvious parallels and instances of foreshadowing throughout the Bible that connect creation, covenant, and the Incarnation of the Christ-Child in Mary’s womb.

This year we plan to introduce and explore the biblical theology of Christ’s Incarnation in four lessons. First, we will examine the theme of blessing from barrenness and observe how often the covenant is preserved and salvation comes through a child of promise born to a barren woman. This is not a coincidence, and it does not happen merely once or twice. Second, we will look at the parallels between Mary and Eve, the mother of the living. We will see how Gabriel describes the birth of Christ as a new creation and learn to better understand Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy 2:15 that the woman will be saved through childbearing. Third, we will consider how women play a role throughout redemptive history in crushing the serpent’s head, typologically leading to the birth of Christ who is the true Serpent-Crusher and Dragon-Slayer. Fourth, we will study the doxology of redemption as we examine Mary’s Magnificat and the historical and covenantal preparation for it in Miriam’s Song (Exodus 15), Hannah’s Prayer (1 Sam. 2), and the Psalms.

I hope this series of studies will be profitable to us all. There are many ways they might be misunderstood. They should not lead us to devotion to Mary, nor are they designed as a feminist re-reading of redemption. Indeed, in view of the poisonous errors of both Mariolatry and feminism, my hope and prayer is that this series will provide a robust and biblical alternative to such human doctrines. May we find our true joy and satisfaction in Christ and in the work of redemption he has prepared, performed, and proclaimed in powerful and poetic ways. --JME

[1] Cf. Daniel Hyde, “Not Holy But Helpful: A Case for the ‘Evangelical Feast Days’ in the Reformed Tradition” MAJT (2015): 131-149.

[2] Cf. “Celebrating the Birth of Our Lord” https://joelellis.blogspot.com/2012/12/celebrating-birth-of-our-lord.html

[3] “Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.” --Definition of the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451)

Two Years Later

November 11, 2019 was a Monday. That morning I received the kind of phone call every parent dreads. It was my oldest daughter, Hannah. A man driving a van had run a red light at a high rate of speed and struck their car. Hannah was bruised and had minor abrasions but would be okay. Ellen Beth was not. She was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where they discovered her spine was fractured. She was then transferred to a special unit at a Children’s Hospital where she would spend the next two weeks. After returning home, Ellen Beth spent the next three months in a wheelchair. Eventually, by God’s great mercy and grace, she began walking again, then running, then exercising, and then doing jiu-jitsu. Today Ellen Beth is finishing prerequisites for nursing school and working full-time as a Tech in the Observation unit of a local hospital. She has helped save the life of multiple patients, and she has performed CPR and worked bedside on other patients who have not survived. The crash in 2019 changed her life, in ways good and bad. She will always carry the scars of that day, but she is stronger, wiser, and better for having had that experience.

If the driver had struck Hannah and Ellen Beth’s car just a few seconds later, EB’s injuries might have been far worse, and Hannah would almost certainly not have survived. That car crash and everything that happened in it was not an accident. It was hard providence, governed, restrained, and guided by God’s grace. The situation might have been very different, and if one or both girls had not survived, the Lord would still be good and merciful. The crash was bad, but it could have been so much worse. The injury and trauma were great, but not as great as they might have been. We know this is true, and we speak about it often. But our family had a reminder this morning.

Two years to the week after that fateful day, once again on a Monday morning, another teenager in our family, the girls’ younger brother Jack, was driving near our house. This time I was in the car, sitting in the passenger’s seat. We were approaching an intersection just a few blocks from where Jack’s sisters were injured and could easily have died. I don’t think either of us were thinking about that day two years before as we approached the road. Suddenly just ahead of us a car traveling southbound ran a stop sign and began traveling westbound at a high rate of speed. The light was red as he approached the intersection, but he only accelerated as he rocketed into the path of north-south traffic. There was a loud, powerful collision as the speeding sedan struck a small SUV, destroying and immobilizing that vehicle and sending the sedan careening across the intersection, through the adjacent, undeveloped corner lot, and under a tree approximately half a football field length away.

Jack moved to the corner of the intersection and pulled to the curb. I switched on our hazard lights and told him to stay in the van. The driver in the middle of the intersection was screaming, trapped into the smashed car, covered in blood and deflated airbags, alive but in a bad way. As another bystander moved to the driver’s window, I ran across the intersection and into the empty lot to check on the driver of the other car. He was dead. It looked like he had broken his neck.

A police officer was on-scene less than a minute after the collision. The driver of the sedan had been fleeing from law enforcement, although it did not appear the officer was in high speed pursuit. But the speeding driver was desperate to get away. He was ready to risk everything to avoid being detained by the cops, and it cost him his life. I don’t know if the other driver’s injuries were life threatening or not, but the severity of the crash will surely affect him for the rest of whatever remains of his life.

It had been a quiet morning. Sitting in the passenger seat, I was looking down at my phone when the crash happened just ahead of us. Jack and I had been listening to a news podcast just like every other morning, and then everything changed. I spent the rest of the day thinking about the dead body I had seen. I’ve lost count over the years how many there have been, but I wasn’t expecting to see one today. We weren’t thinking about what happened just a few blocks away only two years ago, but when I later texted my wife and daughters to tell them what happened and that we were okay, we obviously thought about it then.

The last thing I tell my girls every morning when they leave to work a shift at the hospital is: Keep your head on a swivel. It is part of our morning liturgy. By now it may be so familiar that they no longer think about it. But I do. Every time I say it to one of them, I wonder if it will be the last time. How many times have I been distracted when driving? How easily do I forget how quickly and unexpectedly and permanently things can change?

The driver who ran a red light and crashed into my daughters walked away uninjured. The driver who ran the red light today died at the scene. My girls eventually recovered from their injuries. I don’t know what will happen to the other driver in the crash today. But today I was reminded of how great God’s mercy has been to my children. After all, that could have been my daughters, or today it might have been Jack. I was reminded of how quickly things can happen when you least expect it. I was reminded that the world is full of reckless people with no regard for the welfare of others, or even for their own. There are all kinds of lessons I could extrapolate as a pastor from today’s experience, but there is no need to do that. I’m sure they are obvious. In the meantime: Keep your head on a swivel. --JME

Temple Prostitution Makes a Comeback

“A brothel in Austria has begun operating as a COVID-19 vaccination center – with the added incentive of a free 30-minute session in the ‘sauna club’ with a ‘lady of their choice’ for anyone who takes them up on the offer” (source). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the brothel reports that “the scheme has been popular.” Those who take advantage of the offer are given the additional incentive of being “legally allowed to visit the ‘sauna club’ once more.” One of the employees told Reuters:

“I think it's a very good idea to have a vaccination street in the Fun Palast, because the name fun palace suggest to have a bit of fun here and return back to normality a bit more. And I also think it's a great idea that this is being offered for women, children and of course men.”

The altruism of this program can scarcely be overstated. Small business owners and sex workers are uniting to promote public health in the shared belief that COVID is a greater threat than sexually transmitted diseases or eternal damnation. One wonders how many of the women and children eligible for the program are also visiting Fun Palast to take advantage of the offer. Given the urgent importance of our public health crisis, one might envision entire households visiting the brothel together in the interests of their family’s welfare.

Of course, those with even a smattering of Bible knowledge or familiarity with religion in the ancient world will recognize the model. Appolyon has used it before, quite effectively, though it did not work out so well in cities like Corinth and Ephesus where, despite a lively sex trade in the temples, Christianity managed to gain a foothold and draw large numbers of worshippers out of the temple cult and into Christian congregations. Temple prostitution is nothing new. It is very old. The Dragon hasn’t managed to come up with anything truly new in a very long time. He simply recycles storylines like a Disney screenwriter working on the latest Star Wars film.

Temple prostitution invites worshippers to pledge allegiance and demonstrate their devotion to the gods by means of sexual communion with the priests and priestesses of the temple. It is like a lot of churches today which assure you that God’s desire is for you to be happy, and nothing says happiness like having sex with a stranger after getting poked in the arm with a needle. But make no mistake, the offer will cost you more than you expect. The first time is always free, or so they want you to think, but in reality although “the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil… in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell” (Prov. 5:3-5).

Set aside for a moment questions about the immunological value of the COVID vaccines. I regard taking the vaccine or not as a matter of personal liberty determined by each individual’s calculation. But the question of mandates aimed to vaccinate everyone, regardless of natural immunity, personal circumstances, or individual liberty is a religious mission which urges, propositions, or demands that citizens of the world bow the knee and pledge fealty to the lords of science in order to participate in the world’s economy and human society. You must burn the pinch of incense to Caesar or find yourself exiled from the world.

Entrepreneurs in Austria have only highlighted the lack of creativity in our American authorities. Imagine how much more popular President Biden’s vaccine mandate might have been if it had included a 30 minute private session in a sauna club. Instead, our executive officer decided to inspire cooperation by threatening companies with heavy fines designed to drive them out of business and threaten employees who do not comply with termination. Fun Palast in Austria has found a gentler approach to wooing participation. But make no mistake, both gambits are wicked and immoral, both are fundamentally religious in nature, and both are in defiance of the King’s rule and law. Both programs should be treated with the contempt they deserve, as devices of the Devil designed to waylay weak souls, offers and demands which like their maker are destined for Hell. --JME

Genesis 2:18-25: A Wedding Homily on the Occasion of N--- and T---’s Marriage

When the Lord said he would make a helper (helpmeet) suitable for Adam, he used a word the OT also uses to describe Yahweh’s relationship to Israel. Yahweh is the helper of his people, and Eve would be the helper of her husband, Adam. Far from a demeaning word, it is an honorable term designating the wife’s unique covenantal status. There are differences, of course. Yahweh condescends to help his people, while Eve is equal to her husband in value and person. But she would fill a role no other creature could. A man may be well-served by his dog, his horse, and his livestock. He may benefit from the brotherhood and shared labors of other men. But none of them can ever be to and for him what his wife is to be.

The Lord knew Adam’s need could not be met by a beast, but Adam did not know that, so God led Adam on an exercise in observation. He brought all of the beasts and birds before Adam, and the man bestowed names on each of them in an exercise of his kingly rule over Eden. Adam must have seen that most of these animals came in pairs: male and female. But there was no female in the human species to share life with Adam in the garden. Adam must have also noticed that although he could talk with several of the beasts--I’m sure you know that animals could talk before the Fall--none of them were his equal in terms of intellect and moral awareness. What was Adam to do? A king needed a queen, especially one who was given a divine commission to fill and subdue the earth. Adam had been alive less than one day and already his kingdom was troubled. The first problem in the history of the world was the absence of a woman to help man in doing the work God assigned to him.

What did Adam do? He took a nap. (I’ve sometimes found this to be very helpful when facing a vexing problem that you cannot find a solution to.) In this case, God put Adam into a deep sleep, opened his side, removed a rib, and fashioned a woman from man’s own body. When Adam awoke and saw her, he was overwhelmed. This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. Where there had once been one man there were now two people, a man and a woman, destined to be reunited in covenantal and spiritual communion as husband and wife. Eve would be for Adam what no beast or bird ever could be. She would meet his needs in a way that not even another brother could. She would be more than a partner. She would be a covenant companion, co-worker, lover, and Adam’s glory (1Cor. 11:7).

Man is well-served by the lower animals in creation, but there are two things a husband and wife share that man can never enjoy with a beast or a brother. The first is rather obvious: procreation. Adam and Eve were commanded to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. That command cannot be obeyed except with a woman, the perversity of our present society notwithstanding. Nor can this command be fulfilled by fornication which may produce offspring but can never lead to godly fruitfulness and dominion. Only in partnership with a lawfully wedded wife can man obey God’s word to multiply, subdue, and rule over the world.

The second responsibility that man shares in a unique way with his wife may be less obvious, and that is the responsibility of prayer. All creation worships the Maker; even the demons believe and tremble. Sinful man is the lone exception. But man was made as the image of God for the purpose of worshipping and glorifying God. The beasts may worship God, but they do not join man in prayer in doing so. It is true that two men may pray together. In fact, churches are formed when groups of men gather in one place to worship the Lord. But a church is not a family, even though it is a visible gathering of the family of God, and men in the same congregation or even living under the same roof cannot give to God the worship that is fundamental to human society: family worship. Only in and through marriage can man offer a life of fruitful, multi-generational prayer to God. A monastic may devote his life to prayer, but when he dies, the fire on the altar goes out. But Adam and Noah and Abraham and Moses and David worshipped God with their wives, and their offspring continue to offer prayer to God every hour around the world to this day. There are churches in cities because there is first prayer in Christian households. See the progression in the Book of Acts. Cornelius and his household believe in Christ, and a church is established. The Philippian jailer and his household believe in Christ, and the church in Philippi grows. A lone individual may offer prayer and worship to God. But only Christian households, led in prayer by a father and mother, can bring multi-generational communities of faith into existence. The Church’s worship is supported and fueled by the worship of families during the week. Husbands and wives are joined in marriage for more than just procreation. They are joined because God wants godly offspring, children who learn to pray at home.

N--- and T---, the Lord is joining you together not merely for companionship, but for spiritual service in his kingdom. He unites you by covenant because it is not good for man to be alone. The task he has given you is much larger than either of you could ever accomplish on your own. That work is more than building a career, or a house to live in, or a retirement account so that one day you can afford to visit your grandchildren. He has called you to a life of prayer, a life of worship, a life of shared service in his kingdom, living with joy under the rule of our Lord.

Your marriage is a precious thing, something the world you live in cannot understand and, sadly, something many churches you may attend will not really understand either. This relationship is not based on mutual attraction, as pleasant as that may be. It is not based on mutual interests, as helpful as those may be. It is based on a gracious covenant, an understanding that you have been sent by God to the wilderness so that wilderness may become a garden and then a city. You cannot accomplish this by what you do. Like Adam, the first step in facing this insurmountable problem is to rest, to rest in Christ, and to know that God will do what you cannot in your own strength or resourcefulness.

Jesus fell asleep on the cross and his side was torn open so that by means of water and blood the Church, his Bride, might come into being. Christ is the Last Adam, the one who succeeded where our father failed. His victory ensures your victory. Because he has been glorified, you also will be glorified. This is the story that supports your marriage. You have no greater obligation, no greater task, and no greater joy than to live a life of prayer and service together in the presence of God and for his glory. May he always bless you in doing so. Amen. --JME