Marriage Works ~ Forgive One Another

It's easy to see greener grass when your spouse looks burned out. Brown and wilted, dead under the weight of...your unforgiveness.

It's never easy to forgive someone for whatever they've done to rock your world, warranted or not. Some feel that if they forgive another, they excuse the sin. What they don't realize is that they hold that person captive in their heart. No one lives free when one of you is working as a jailer. The person
held in the cell is never able to prove themselves innocent. The person holding them is constantly watching over the jailed, waiting for them to give one more reason they should remain imprisoned.

Jesus came to set the captives free. He came to heal the brokenhearted. Does that sound like your marriage? Are you harboring unforgiveness for one another's sins?

Forgiveness is not a feeling; it's an act, just like love. It requires work. It requires a willingness to let go. Granted, you may never forget what your spouse has done against you. You may seek justice. Which is acceptable. (Note I didn't say you may seek revenge.) But it is your job to release your spouse to Jesus and allow the Great Physician to heal the sickness within him/her.

How often are we supposed to forgive? 70 x 7 times per day. That's 490 times a day! Does your spouse leave their socks lying on the floor that often? Does your spouse lie to you that many times in one day? Personally, I think it's near-to-impossible to commit the same sin that many times in one day. I think God wanted us to know how vast His forgiveness is for us and that we should give everyone else the same opportunity to be free from sin.

The grass is never greener on the other side of the fence. It may look it, but lying underneath are bugs that are nearly invisible to your eye, caught up in the shards, waiting to eat away any life. No one on earth is perfect. Jesus was the only one. We all make mistakes. We all have weaknesses and faults. We are all sinners, some saved by grace. So before you start looking over the fence, forgive your spouse. Give him/her 490 more times to get it right today.

"Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little” (Luke 7:47).

And make sure it isn't your own sin causing your frustration with your spouse.