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The Mystery of Marriage 20th Anniversary Edition: Meditations on the Miracle [Paperback]

Mike Mason
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 2, 2005
Meditate on the Spiritual Significance of Marriage

In the 20th Anniversary Edition of this Gold Medallion Award winner, Mike Mason goes on a poetic search to understand the wondrous dynamics of committed love. In highly readable, first-person style, Mason’s writing stimulates readers’ thoughts and prayers and propels couples to deeper intimacy. “A marriage is not a joining of two worlds,” says the author, “but an abandoning of two worlds in order that one new one might be formed.” Rich chapters on “Otherness,” “Vows,” “Intimacy,” “Sex,” “Submission,” and an all-new chapter on “Oneness” lift readers to view the eternal, spiritual nature of this faith-filled, “impossible,” wild—yet wonderful—frontier.

“An outstanding achievement. Rarely has a book aroused in me so much enthusiasm as has the combination of wisdom, depth, dignity, and glow that I find in these chapters.”
-J.I. Packer

“Absolutely exquisite. It reaches down deep into our innermost being, revealing, revitalizing, rewarding. A real classic.”
-Gigi Graham Tchividjian

“A drop everything book. Mason deals with the stunning paradoxes of the mystery, the problems, and the glories of marriage. I don’t need to read any other book on the subject.”
-Elisabeth Elliot

Story Behind the Book

"Over the twenty years since its publication, many couples have told me that they’ve read my book aloud to each other. This always amazes me and gives me great joy. I’m also amazed that many single people have read it. Either way, my goal is for hearts to be warmed by the mystery of divine love. I want couples to enter into deeper intimacy by thinking together about the mystery of marriage—about how their love, besides being a gift of God, reflects the very love He has for Himself in the Trinity. For God is not a bachelor, and throughout the Bible marriage is a supreme picture of the nature of God’s love and of His kingdom. I want people who read my book to feel so soaked in these wonderful, divine mysteries that it deepens their reverence for marriage and inspires them to greater love."  
-Mike Mason

Frequently Bought Together

The Mystery of Marriage 20th Anniversary Edition: Meditations on the Miracle + The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mike Mason is the author of The Mystery of Children, The Gospel According to Job, and Practicing the Presence of People. He and his wife, Karen, an MD in general practice, live in Langley , British Columbia , and have one daughter, Heather .

Product Details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Multnomah Books; 20 Anv edition (June 2, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1590523741
  • ISBN-13: 978-1590523742
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

If you go to my website at mikemasonbooks.com, you'll see my tag line: "Purveyor of Fine Sentences." I write sentences, not books. Someone once said that a writer's job is to make good sentences and the rest will take care of itself. So I try to make every sentence true and beautiful. As the sentences accumulate and start heading in a direction, books happen. (Maybe my website should be mikemasonsentences.com?)
This is not just a philosophy of writing but of life. It's moments that count, more than the grand scheme. Live great moments and the rest will sort itself out.
My first great moment happened in 1952 when I came into the world in Peterborough, Canada. By age eleven I wanted to be a writer, and although I got many things wrong in life, one thing I got right was to hang onto the writing dream and pursue it single-mindedly. After earning an M.A. in English from the University of Manitoba, I spent my twenties doing odd jobs to support my writing, from garbage-collecting to journalism to library work.
In 1982 I married Karen, a family doctor. We spent our first year of marriage studying theology at Regent College in Vancouver, and we've lived in British Columbia ever since. We have one daughter, Heather, born in 1987, who is married to Sean and pursuing a dance career in Toronto.
In nearly three decades of writing, I've published half a dozen devotional books, two collections of short stories, and now a pair of fantasy novels, The Blue Umbrella and The Violet Flash. I'm currently working on a novel about angels, and also assembling a collection of my Christmas stories.
Turning to novel-writing at age fifty has meant a radical change. In many ways I had to learn my craft all over again and work through many fears and insecurities. The result, however, is deeply satisfying, and now with more fiction on the way I have a renewed sense of challenge and joy in my work.
All in all I enjoy a simple life filled with family and friends, books, music, and prayer.


Customer Reviews

And to God be the Glory! Kitty Law  |  14 reviewers made a similar statement
Very insightful book. B.E  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
Compact yet deep! S. KIM  |  3 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 45 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars New Perspective on an Ancient Institution! July 30, 2002
Format:Paperback
There are thousands of books available on how to prepare for marriage, how to improve upon a marriage, or how to affair-proof a marriage. Mason here departs from the crowd and exults in the institution of marriage itself. His perspective is one of reverent awe rather than analytical examination.

Mason ponders the mystery of marriage from several different angles: otherness, love, intimacy, vows, sex, submission and death. His words are readable, yet profound. His book considers the greatest delights of marriage as well as the greatest demands.

I recommend this volume to anyone wanting to get a better understanding of how God has created marriage, and how He manifests His glory and His grand design through it. I have read many other books on marriage, but none with this unique, awe-inspiring approach. This work is a true classic!

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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Mike Mason's "The Mystery of Marriage" is an inspired and inspiring work, a breathtaking work of prose which reveals the transcendency of marriage, from the physical to the spiritual. Without preaching, Mason tells the story of his stepping away at the last moment from life in a monastery to embrace a life-consuming love in marriage. In a work which is profoundly honest and intimate, we glimpse the spiritual nature of marriage so easily lost in our chaotic world. Mason's openness, honesty and vulnerability, give us a work of incredible love which is beyond human ability to share. I am moved to tears by the love of Christ poured out on these pages.

This is a life-changing book, and I gladly give copies to friends considering marriage.
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Well, I guess it's about time to write a review for Mystery of Marriage after reading it over and over many times since my husband and I were first dating (8 years ago) and after giving it as a wedding gift to every single bride and groom we know. This book is a masterpiece. It stands alone as the most richly woven piece of literature about the state of being married that I have ever read. Mike Mason puts eloquent, authentic words to the feelings every husband and wife experience in a manner that makes you SO glad that you're married (or about to be) EVEN IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING REAL STRUGGLE. You cannot help but be moved by his riveting description of the marriage union...both the utter agony and the sheer bliss. The book builds as the true MYSTERY of marriage unfolds before you...the very thing we all long to understand and to grasp. Once you're into this book for very long, what will really send deep shivers through your soul is the realization that this unbelievabley 'impossible' union we are trying to have with our mate is only hinting at the extraordinary marriage between our God and us. Yes, this beautiful analogy has been written of numerous times before, but trust me...not like this. I would recommend ordering at least TWO copies of this book... one to give away and one to read simultaneously with your partner.(I suggest alone, because these words are powerful and seering, and to be most effective, perhaps need to be contemplated deeply in solitude.) You will not be sorry to have invested in this book...and don't let the 'gift book' appearance turn you off...I believe it was packaged this way to encourage giving it to couples. Give it to YOURSELF first. And to God be the Glory!
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As a marriage and family therapist, I have personally recommended this book to scores of people whether already married or considering it -- even if into an intimate partnership.... the principles apply. Why is this going on? What is happening? Is this normal? This superior book answers a multitude of questions that most people do not even know enough to ask. They just know they are feeling pain, or confusion, or questions. A beautifully written, easy to read, right to the heart of it book for everyone who may even consider falling in love one day.Buy it. Read it. You will be so glad you did.Then pass it on to a friend. Ask that friend to pass it on. Everyone who has ever considered love or marriage will be transformed -- their minds renewed -- through the reading of The Mystery of Marriage by Mason.You will never view intimacy nor marriage with the same eyes again.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! June 10, 2000
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
This is more than a book outlining "10 Steps to this..." or "7 Steps to that..." As the author himself stated, this is more of a "how come" book than a "how to" book. Mike Mason paints a vivid picture of the spiritual and emotional realities that are just beneath the surface of marriage and romance. His chapter on submission alone makes the book worth purchasing by showing us that it (submission) is much more than most of us think it is. If you're looking for a way to take control by following those "10 simple rules" to make your marriage everything YOU want it to be, if you're looking for a quick fix formula that's peddled by so many relationship guru's (I certainly was when I picked up this book), than this isn't for you. If you want to build your marriage on a solid foundation of real love, one that will withstand the inevitable storms of life, than Mike Mason's "The Mystery of Marriage" is the place to start.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Written; Not A How-To Book
As a thirty-something never-married single, I read The Mystery of Marriage to gleam whatever wisdom I could on an institution I one day hope to enjoy. Read more
Published 9 days ago by FortitudineVincimus
5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery of Marriage 20th Edition
The Holy Spirit prompted me to read this book in preparation for marriage. Eloquently witty prose with a strong bite of reality. Read more
Published 1 month ago by LaSonya
5.0 out of 5 stars A whole new to think about marriage.
We've been married 30 years and we getting back to loving side of our marriage. In the midst of this we learning about the mystery there is in marriage and how that relates to our... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Richard Andrew Swift
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on marriage ever!
The best book on marriage my husband and I have ever read....my husband says it changed his life! I agree, it did!
Published 2 months ago by Linda Huey
5.0 out of 5 stars best book on marriage
love this book on marriage! it does a great job describing the abstract depths of what marriage really is and what it really does to our hearts. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Carly Fletcher
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read!
One of the best books on marriage! Beautifully Poetic, inspiring, convicting, liberating, God-honoring, revelatory. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Elise Elliott
5.0 out of 5 stars The Mystery of Christ In Both of You
Along with some principles of marriage and what makes for passion and health, what Mason brings to the discussion is Paul's promise that God has now revealed a mystery, and that... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Tobin B. Crenshaw
4.0 out of 5 stars Marriage
Very insightful book. Takes a closer look into marraige, digging deeper into the depths of marriage. Good book to remind you as to why you got married and how to stay married.
Published 13 months ago by B.E
2.0 out of 5 stars Didn't know where it was going...
The Mrs. and I picked this up a couple weeks ago as our most recent joint read book. Unfortunately we didn't get engaged in it and eventually quit reading. Read more
Published 17 months ago by A2
4.0 out of 5 stars The Institution of Devotion
My wife and I enjoyed this book immensely. It has been a few years since I read it and the one image that has stuck with me is that of devotion. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Jason and Natalie
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