Yours, till Heaven ~ a book review

 

Yours, till Heaven by Ray Rhodes Jr. is subtitled The Untold Love Story of Charles and Susie Spurgeon.  And what a love story it is!

As I read through the pages of this book, my heart was warmed by the devotion that these two people had for one another.  They were always thinking of what they could do for the other one.  Despite Charles' frequent absence when he would need to go away for longer periods of time to regain his health and Susie wasn't able to join him because of her own health issues, they wrote to each other daily and still kept that love relationship between them going strong.  I couldn't help but think as I read through these pages that there seems to be a bit missing from our pulpits today regarding the home and family life...particularly where the relationship between the husband and wife are concerned.

Charles often referred to Susie as "Wifey" and that just really endeared him all the more to me.  I don't recall that she had a pet name that she called him, but he was always in her thoughts.

Another thing that I enjoyed about their relationship is the devotion that both of them had to the Lord.  They were both involved in the ministry...not just Charles.  I learned so much about Susie's involvement, not only in what she and Charles did together, but also the Book Fund that she started in order that pastors who served small congregations and couldn't afford good sound teaching books could be guided by books that Susie would personally choose and wrap and mail to the pastors she knew who were in need.  

Charles passed about nine years prior to Susie and even in her times of mourning and missing Charles, she continued on with the Book Fund ministry she had started.  She was also an accomplished author in her own right in addition to proof reading and helping Charles with his books.  I have one of her books of poetry that I have enjoyed for years.

There were a few quotes that I would like to share with you from this book.  The first one is found on page 70 of the book, "Charles proclaimed, no doubt with Susie in mind, that a "model marriage" was one of love and esteem.  In such a marriage, the husband is "a tender head" and the wife "delights in her husband" and considers him "the chief and foremost of mankind " and her "all-in-all".  Her love is for him and him alone.  She is content, comforted, and joyful in his company, and she is honored in her husband's honor.  Charles was not a domineering husband, nor was Susie a reluctant wife - they found freedom and joy in their roles and by pulling together, they accomplished great things for God's glory." 

Also, on page 70 we find these words...

"According to Charles, the happiest of couples are those who 'are so blended, so engrafted on one stem, that their old age presents a lovely attachment, a common sympathy, by which its infirmities are greatly alleviated, and its burdens are transformed into fresh bonds of love.'"  He continues, "So happy a union of will, sentiment, thought, and heart exists between them, that the two streams of their love have washed away the dividing bank, and run on as one broad current of untied existence till their common joy falls into the ocean of eternal felicity."

I had forgotten that Charles used a pseudonym for a series of articles in The Sword and the Trowel.  He wrote under the name of John Ploughman.  In one of the articles he wrote as follows: "Writing of the "rubbish" that some men expressed about their wives, Charles said that such slander "does not prove that the women are bad, but that their husbands are good for nothing."  That is found on page 71.

I would definitely recommend this book as a source of encouragement for all who desire to love their spouses well.