Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
Week 5: Chapter 4 — The Lengthening Shadow of Love
Read Chapter 4 of Sacred Marriage. Key passages: 1 Corinthians 13:4–8; John 15:13; Romans 5:8.
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Thomas digs into the nature of love itself — not as a feeling that happens to us but as a choice and a discipline that trains us in the character of God.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Thomas draws a sharp distinction between the love that is an emotion and the love that is an act of the will. How does that distinction change the way you think about "falling out of love" — a phrase our culture takes very seriously?
2.He argues that learning to love a real, flawed, sometimes difficult person is one of the primary ways God teaches us to love him and others well. How has loving your spouse taught you something about the nature of love that you couldn't have learned any other way?
3.Thomas points to 1 Corinthians 13 not as a wedding reading but as a description of hard-won, disciplined love. Which of the qualities Paul lists — patience, kindness, bearing all things — feels most like a discipline rather than a natural response in your marriage right now?
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