Forgiving your spouse (3)

Forgiving your spouse (3)

 

 

 

“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’” (Mark 8:34); “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.  And lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:4).

 

 

 

                The Bible says, "If you do not forgive others their wrongdoings, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoings" (Matthew 6:15).  Husbands and wives must forgive each other when they have wronged one another.  The person who has wronged their spouse should not just say, "I'm sorry," but also say, "I am wrong."  They should be able to specifically express how and what they did wrong to their spouse.  Additionally, they must show commitment to not repeating those mistakes in the future.  However, forgiving is never easy.  The reason is that the instinct of our old nature is selfish, leading us to believe that the wrongs of others are bigger and more numerous than our own.  Moreover, our instinct is not to forgive the other person, but to expect and hope for forgiveness from him or her instead.  Fighting against this sinful, selfish instinct within us in order to forgive our spouse is a difficult and challenging task.  Forgiving our spouse requires paying a great price.  We must deny ourselves and sacrifice ourselves (Mark 8:34).  However, when we pay this price to forgive our spouse, the harvest of that forgiveness is beautiful.  When our spouse, having paid a great price, asks for our forgiveness, we must forgive our spouse.  And when we forgive, we must do so "as God forgave you (me) in Christ" (Ephesians 4:32).  The holy God has forgiven me, a sinner who has sinned countless times, in Jesus Christ, and He continues to forgive me and will continue to forgive me.  Therefore, I must forgive my spouse's wrongs.  Then, I must accept my spouse as she is and love her with God's love.  When we do this, we will be able to pray to the Lord, saying: "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive everyone who is indebted to us" (Luke 11:4).