Forgiveness In Marriage

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Colossians 3:12-13

SCOTT DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO. Only eight months into marriage, he and his wife were fighting more and more and seemed to be getting along less and less. Their blissful engagement and honeymoon were a distant memory, and he often found himself wondering whether or not he’d made a mistake and married the wrong person.

“If I had married the girl God wanted me to marry,” he reasoned, “then surely marriage wouldn’t be this hard.”

But marriage is hard work because, among other things, it exposes us. Though it is relatively easy to manage or hide our insecurities and weaknesses when we live alone, marriage forces us into such close community with our spouse that hiding our brokenness becomes nearly impossible. We don’t like the vulnerable feeling of being exposed, so we may get irritated with our wife and focus on her sinfulness rather than dealing with our own.

The fact is, marriage is a work in progress. Acknowledging and exposing the brokenness and sin in yourself and your wife can help you both to see your desperate need for Christ and to experience His grace. When we are aware of our weakness, we will feel more compelled to run to Christ for perspective and help.

Awareness of our own brokenness makes it easier to forgive as we have been forgiven, and all good relationships are sustained by forgiveness.

BOTTOM LINE

Christ’s love can shine brightest in the presence of our failures and shortcomings. Ask Jesus to help you to forgive as you’ve been forgiven.

Moment of Strength: Ephesians 5:25