How God Can Use a Miserable Marriage

Most of you know my passion for classic writings. I’ve said so many times that reading outside of my century and even tradition can open my eyes to perspectives I’d never hear otherwise. And this morning, something John Calvin wrote five hundred years ago just blew me away. He creates an entirely new understanding to help us think through the ramifications—and perhaps even blessings—of a difficult marriage.

If memory serves, John Calvin was married for only a decade. It was a happy marriage by all accounts, but his wife died too young, as wasn’t unusual in the sixteenth century. But far from making him bitter, his wife’s death reminded Calvin of an amazing spiritual truth.

Let me set this up.