In the Foreword to Mike Mason’s Gold Medallion-winning book on marriage, none other than J.I. Packer writes of the rare combination of “wisdom, depth, dignity and glow – I don’t know what else to call it – that I find in these chapters. To introduce them is not a chore but an excitement.” Moreover, you need to know that Mike Mason undertook the writing of this book, his first, as a young newlywed who had considered the monastic life before meeting his bride. But, like many of the other marriage books recommended on this site, The Mystery of Marriage is not a how-to but a celebration of some overlooked, but extremely critical implications of the gospel in marriage. With chapter titles like “Otherness,” “Love,” “Intimacy,” “Vows,” “Sex,” “Submission,” and “Death,” you know that this book is going to take you to destinations that other books on marriage avoid. I chalk up the few missteps I think the book makes to Mason’s youth and inexperience at the time. Perhaps they were fixed in later editions, as my well-worn and heavily-highlighted copy of this book is at least 20 years old. But Mike Mason is a brilliant writer and the stunning extravagance of the gospel pops off of every page of this book. It is well worth multiple reads.
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