Pray Till Pentecost – Marriage Devotion (2/5)
Jesus on the cross represents a beautiful act of grace, giving us salvation through the forgiveness of our sins. Looking at this statement, how important do you think it is for God to forgive? How important do you think forgiveness is in your day to day life?
“if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!”.
Therefore, with the forgiveness of our sins God has given us a new physical, mental, and spiritual life. We have received indescribable love, grace, mercy, and power which runs in us so that we can impart it to others. Jesus has given us the gift of direct communication with the Father, enabling us to take part in an intimate relationship with Him, allowing our faith to grow as we get closer to Him and empowering us to show the same measure of grace, mercy, and forgiveness to those around us. Faith increases as we are representing the very core of our salvation. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32).
On the other hand, when we hold unforgiveness we are compromising our relationship with God.
‘For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins’.
Holding on to unforgiveness can also affect our bodies and mental health; addictions, anxieties, and depression can come along, and when we allow resentment to grow in our hearts. This can lead us further and further away from God’s extending love and damages our relationship with Him. We all might know that! But sometimes we think that forgiveness refers to those “big things” that are obvious and hard for us to forgive and we underestimate the daily things that others can do that hurt us.
Think about all the times where “small things” have happened; when we’ve said, behaved or reacted in ways which are less desirable because we ignored past hurts and allowed them to root unforgiveness in our hearts. Unforgiveness that has resulted because we’ve never dealt with those hurts and have never asked for or received forgiveness?
Consider, how many times you have brought tension to conversations by bringing up things that have happened years ago just to make your present point valid? Or how you get frustrated with a behaviour that has been there for years, yet you have never mentioned it to your partner previously? And we can go on and on and on…
Think about the amount of times you know you have ignored something unresolved that required forgiveness, either from you towards your partner or vice versa. Yet, deep down they are still there, waiting to come to the surface to create division between you and your partner at the most inopportune time. Such unforgiveness can result in a loss of connection between you and your partner and create physical or mental distance, which ultimately can pull you both apart from each other and from God.
However, when we consider how much God has forgiven us of our wrongdoings how can we hold onto our unforgiveness towards others? Especially our partner!
‘Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others’. Being quick to forgive, rather than holding onto our hurts, creates an environment for love, acceptance, and intimacy to thrive. In a sense, by forgiving we are starting afresh and are creating a ‘new day’ where sharing love with our spouse becomes natural and easy, communicating is pure and direct, mental and physical health is empowered, pain and disappointment is easier to deal with and even your intimate life is better. More so, you even experience a greater connection to God when you forgive your spouse, as mentally there is no space for anything else but the love of God. His love will overflow from your heart and be so evident that everyone else can see it inside and outside of your relationship.
Question
Question Is there anything in your relationship that needs to be forgiven so that your marriage can grow, thrive and honour God?Prayer
I pray today Lord, that you allow me and my partner to see the things we are ignoring which may be damaging or hindering our relationship. Let us be quick to forgive, and as we do, please bless us with a marriage that grows stronger and stronger. Take us to a new level of connection with you so that we may become an example of your love in our marriage. Thank you, Lord, for your forgiveness and for my marriage, and I pray that my marriage is an image of your grace to this world.
