From the Back Cover

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.

“The two shall become one flesh.

This is a great mystery.”

Ephesians 5:31–32

PULL OUT

The Mystery of Marriage stands out from how-to manuals on marriage as a refreshing how-come book—a brilliant celebration of the God-ordained union between man and wife.

“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.”

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 .

Book Reviews from Amazon.com

New Perspective on an Ancient Institution!

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!

Book review by David R. Bess

The Single Best Book on the Meaning Of Marriage Ever Written

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.

Book Review by Mike Chambers

Powerful, poetic book on the true MYSTERY of marriage

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!

A Treasury of Romantic Text Messages is a pocket-sized book filled with inspiring text messages about love and courtship. It’s a wonderful collection of romantic quotes that you can share to your special someone via SMS.

Product Details

No. of Pages: 104
Language: English/Tagalog
Binding: Paperback
Size: 4 1/2 x 5 1/2
ISBN-10: 971-8573-90-9
ISBN-13: 978-971-8573-90-7
SRP: P55.00/copy

Now available in National Bookstore, Powerbooks, NBS Book Express and selected branches of Expressions.

Product Information
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 160
Originally published by: AMG Publishers
Publication Date: 2002
Dimensions: 8.50 X 5.50 (inches)
ISBN: 971-8573-70-4
Availability: In Stock
SRP: P185.00

Available at all branches of National Bookstore, Philippine Christian Bookstore, Powerbooks and selected branches of Expressions and NBS Book Express. Also available at OMF, Back to the Bible Bookstore, CLC Bookshop, The Vines and the Branches Bookstore, and other independent Christian bookstores nationwide.

Beautifully written and filled with life-transforming insights, this 20th anniversary edition of The Mystery of Marriage explores the mystical and holy nature of marriage with a depth that will forever alter how a couple relates to each other and to God.

Winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award!

Product Details

Title: The Mystery of Marriage
Subtitle: Meditations on the Miracle
Author: Mike Mason
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 230
Dimensions: 8.50 X 5.50 (inches)
ISBN\10: 971-8573-85-2
ISBN13: 978-971-8573-85-3
SRP: PhP 185.00

Available in all branches of National Bookstore, Powerbooks, Philippine Christian Bookstore and other independent Christian bookstores nationwide.