Published earlier this year by Evangelical Press, 'Marriages are Made in Heaven' seeks to explore the relationship between human responsibility and divine sovereignty in human marriage. Steve Donald intends to show how these two fit together for the benefit of confidence and flourishing in marriage. Though there are moments of clarity throughout, and in particular the examples of godly marriage and singleness in Chapter Eight and Chapter Nine offer some helpful reflections, ultimately the book lacks focus, and falls well short of its intentions. Lengthy digressions into social commentary on modern society (Chapter Ten) or whether we will be able to sin in heaven (Chapter Eleven) take away from the focus of the book, and Donald’s argument is plagued throughout by unhelpful generalisations and a lack of nuance.

Whilst I very much hoped this little book would set me thinking on God’s sovereignty in my marriage, I was disappointed to find it instead left me dissatisfied. For those seeking to reflect on marriage (whether single, married or engaged/dating) the following books seem better suited to helping the believer thoughtfully consider this topic:

Edward Creedy, Eden Baptist Church, Cambridge