Ephesians4verse31-32: ‘V31- Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: V32- And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’
Forgiveness is one of the foundations of a successful marriage. In fact, forgiveness is one of the major pillars of marriage. A successful marriage is actually between two forgivers. If you are the type that finds it difficult to forgive, you will surely have a hard time in marriage. I have also discovered that any marriage that is built on bitterness, resentments, malice or anger won’t last. This is why forgiveness is a must if your marriage will work or succeed. As you can see from our Text Scripture (Ephesians 4verse31-32) things like bitterness, wrath, anger, evil speaking and malice must be dealt with in our lives and replaced with things like kindness and forgiveness.
So, my dear reader, how would you score yourself when it comes to forgiveness as a husband or wife? Do you readily forgive or find it difficult to forgive? Your answers to these questions will determine whether your marriage will succeed or not. Matt6v12. As we proceed with our discourse on the place of forgiveness in marriage, we need to know what forgiveness is all about and if we will succeed in forgiving one another. So what is forgiveness?
-Is essentially letting go of a past hurt or wrong doing done to you.
-is surrending the right to retaliate against someone who has hurt you.
-Is a conscious decision to release feelings of resentment.
-Is a transformation of a person’s feeling, attitude and behaviour towards a person who hurt you.
These are just some of the dimensions of what forgiveness is all about.
My dear brothers and sisters, you must be willing to:
-Forgive your spouse. If you really want to experience harmony in your home.
-Forgive yourself. At times you have acted in a dumb way or foolish manner, you must still be willing to forgive yourself notwithstanding.
-Forgive one another.
These are some of the fundamental stuff you need to understand about forgiveness if your marriage will stand the test of time. But the bottom line is that forgiveness is such an important part of marriage that your marriage does not stand a chance of succeeding without it. So give forgiveness a chance in your home. Embrace the culture of forgiveness so that you can experience the bliss and joy of marriage. Will you start doing this today?
Other Scriptural References: Eph5v1-2; Col3v13-14; Mk11v25-26; Matt18v21-22.
Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father I embrace the culture of forgiveness in my home from today in Jesus name, amen.
CONFESSION: I say no to every form of bitterness, resentments and malice in my home! I refuse to allow these vices to rule and dominate me and my house! I give room and place rather to the principle of forgiveness and Peace. This is my new motto and creed now, in Jesus name, amen.
Yemi Adeoti is a pastor, teacher, life coach and mentor & also a prolific writer.
Amen