This week comes to an end, and it has been a fruitful one with author and speaker, Dr.

Paul, David Tripp, filling in for John Piper, who returns with us on Monday.

Paul is the author of the book, Aw, why it matters for everything we think, say, and do,

which easily made my top 10 best books of 2015 list.

And this week we talked about Aw and how it really does, in fact, relate to everything

we do, including spiritual growth and ministry aims and weight loss attempts, parenting

methods, and now we're going to talk about our expectations when it comes to marriage.

Paul in my research into the pastoral letters of 18th century pastor John Newton, I was

surprised how often he wrote to newlyweds to warn them about avoiding making their spouse

into an idol of security.

Ever and over in his letters he does this, and I think partly because he experienced

it in his own marriage, which was an incredible love story in and of itself, but the same concern

lives on today through ministries like that of Tim and Kathy Keller, who see that there's

just this consuming fascination with romantic love in our culture, and it shapes much

of the popular media that we consume as well.

The lie goes like this.

If you find romantic love, then your life will be safe and fulfilling.

So much so that marriage becomes almost a type of salvation, and romantic love takes

on an almost redemptive expectation.

So what would you say to Christians, either singles or newlyweds who are in danger of losing

all in God by becoming preoccupied with romantic love?

Well, the first thing I would say to them is that romance is never the cause of a good

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