In 2017 the Christian church celebrates the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. We can expect a spat of new books to be released, covering the Reformation and the man who brought it about, the Wittenberg monk who became the champion of the Scriptures, Martin Luther.
However, if you have enough money to buy just one book, use it to purchase "Katharina & Martin Luther" by author Michelle DeRusha.
She does a very fine job of covering the events that led to the Reformation of the church and what took place thereafter. But her focus is fixed on one of the most important and vital changes Luther brought - the freedom for men and women serving in the Catholic church to marry.
The story of how Katharina and Martin came together is so unlikely that one can only believe that it was the hand of God that brought the two of them together. Their's is not a "love at first sight" kind of story. As DeRusha explains, the two of them hardly knew one another when they said their "I do's." But what develops over time is a love between the two that is deep and abiding, a model for every married couple.
Books about Luther are endless. Very little is actually known about Katharina. And yet, DeRusha offers a very complete picture of the challenges the Luther's faced, the scorn they received by marrying and the full life they built for themselves and their children.
We often talk about books that were so interesting and compelling that "we just couldn't put it (the book) down." This is the kind of book that Michelle DeRusha has written. This is a 5 Star book. Read it and be blessed by the story of Katharina and Martin Luther!
