Quotes from Gary Thomas

I had envisioned that this would be a short book, about half of what it has become. Once I opened up the Scriptures, however, it was like the glaciers melted and the dams overflowed, and I had to ride the rivers way downstream. I hope you enjoy and learn from the ride.

We have a duty to meet our spouse in their need. Correspondingly, we also have a Christian duty not to demand too much of our spouse.

We are most happy when we are most focused on serving God together.

A Christian is never dependent on the response of others to grow spiritually. It's our own heart's decisions that matter.

A husband who truly loves his wife will want to see her grow in Christlike purity. A wife who truly loves her husband will want to see him grow in godliness. Out of true love, both will put growth in godliness above affluence, public opinion, or personal ease.

We're not called to judge our spouses—ever; we are called to love them. We are not called to recount their failures in a Pharisaic game of "I'm holier than you"; we're called to encourage them. We are not called to build a case against them regarding how far they fall short of the glory of God; we are called to honor and respect them.

We've let selfish and sinful attitudes poison our thoughts and lead us into shameful behaviors, and suddenly all we want is out.

Becoming fixated on something you can't now undo. That's what forgiveness and grace are for — a fresh start, a new beginning. God offers grace precisely for the reason that he wants to forgive us. He is eager to forgive us so we can start afresh and live a new meaningful life in service to him from this point on.

Never look to other couples to measure your worth; look to God to fulfill your call. Don't compare yourself with other couples to measure your happiness; compare your obedience with God's design on your life to measure your faithfulness.

That old love was dead. But it represented my commitment before the Lord — the One before whom I said, 'Till death do us part.

When a loved one dies, when a friend moves away, when something in our life changes, we can choose to thank God for the joy he gave us in the past, or we can wallow in misery over the joy we think we will be denied in the future. The choice is ours.

Spiritual purpose and mission can overcome weaknesses in character because God redeems our characters...