(upbeat music) - Pastor John is on a writing leave right now, writing his next book, and we will have more on that in the near future, but for the next several episodes, we're joined by our good friend Ray Ortland. Ray is an author and the senior pastor of Emanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee.

And today I wanna talk about marriage because Ray, I've been following you on Twitter and Instagram for a few years now, and one of the things that strikes me is the beautiful and happy marriage you enjoy with your wife, Jannie. It's really sweet to watch. And so I wanna start here, speaking especially to guys, what is the secret to a long and sweet and happy marriage?

(laughs) - Well, I think of immediately of Proverbs 5, verse 18, rejoice in the wife of your youth. I'm struck by that because it doesn't say rejoice in your young wife. That's biblical too. Deuteronomy 24 says, "When a man is newly married, "he shall not go out with the army.

"He shall be free at home for one year "to be happy with his wife." And that sounds like a really wonderful year. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. That lasts throughout a lifetime, even into old age. The wife of my youth, Tony, she will always be, however long we live, she will always be that girl I fell in love with starting September 12th, 1968, just outside the South entrance to Centennial Gym on the campus of Wheaton College.

And in the intervening years, now 43 years, which have flown by, nothing important has changed. She is still that girl who gave herself to me on our wedding day. She literally put herself in my arms. She could not have been more trusting. She could not have honored me any more than she did.

And Proverbs 5:18 is calling me to remember that and dwell on that, the privilege of falling in love with her, being entrusted by God with this precious girl, dwelling on that, marveling at that, rejoicing in that. So I would say in answer to your question, Tony, any married man who's listening, I would ask, what made you fall in love with your wife at the start?

Something really wonderful happened there. Falling in love is one of the great privileges of human existence. It is truly of God. Go back to that. And of course, much has happened through the years, but if you still have that girl, she counts for more than all the troubles of this life.

And the years take a toll, of course, but she will always be that girl that you fell in love with. So marvel at what God gave you and think of how God has blessed you through her and let your heart melt all over again. God is inviting us, I think, through Proverbs 5:18, he's inviting every married man into a lifetime of careful, thoughtful, intentional rejoicing as long as we both shall live.

- Wonderful, thank you for that reminder, Ray. That's Ray Ortlund, the author of several books, including two of my favorites, his Commentary on Proverbs, which is just outstanding. It's one of my top 10 books of the year back in 2012 and I really enjoyed reading his latest title, The Gospel, How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ, which was in my list of best books in 2014.

And we'll talk about the role of the local church later on. I have several more questions for Ray coming up. I'm your host, Tony Reinke, we'll see you tomorrow. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)