Love Notes

Love Notes, a biblical look at love, by Ryan Dalgliesh, was not at all what I was expecting. I was anticipating a study on what the Bible means by “love” in general - how it looks and feels in the life of a Christian, how it operates in church life and in the unbelieving world. That is what my own emphasis has been of late. That said, this book’s primary focus is marital love - not what I was expecting but certainly not without value.

The author, in his early 30’s, is a newly married (less than two years) itinerate Bible teacher, who spent about a decade in the hope of finding a suitable wife. The book is a reflection of that journey - a compilation of lessons learned during his hopeful preparation, punctuated with a series of love notes written to his future, yet-to-be-discovered, wife. It reflects the yearning of a youthful romantic Christian young man; and in that sense it is quite sweet. It has much of the idealism one would expect from the writings of a dreamy single man and a newlywed. But it also offers, some pretty sound biblical principles for those looking toward marriage. I would suggest this book to youthful not-yet-marrieds for its emphasis on sexual purity and integrity, the joys to be found in Christian marriage, as well as some good guidelines for marital conduct. But I would recommend it with a caveat: Married people are sinners, which at times can make marriage almost unbearably painful. Though Christian marriage really can be and often is as lovely as this book presents it to be, it is seldom as easy.