Marriage Monday: The Grace of Marriage
Posted by Andrea
I am foregoing Monday Motivation in order to join our host Robyn over at Overflowing Grace for Marriage Monday. As usual, this month’s Marriage Monday topic is important, challenging, and thought provoking. This month we’re exploring The Grace of Marriage.
In order to understand how grace works in a marriage, we must first understand what grace is. Simply put, grace is the kindness God extends to us even though we do not deserve it. Several years ago in Sunday School, our teacher explained grace as an acronym I have never forgotten: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
The ultimate show of grace was demonstrated by Christ’s suffering and death on the cross. Though none of us deserve favor from God, He allowed His precious Son, Jesus, to die on our behalf so that our sins could be forgiven.
When we consider God’s example, it is obvious that grace is motivated by love. As I thought about my own marriage, a familiar passage of scripture came to mind.
Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-8)
Though this entire passage of scripture is important, the part that struck a chord with me was the latter half of verse 5: (love) is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Conviction immediately engulfed me as I thought about how many times I’ve defied that scripture by quickly getting angry at JT or by bringing up past hurts again and again. I am ashamed to admit that I have been easily angered and am guilty of recording wrongs. Definitely not a show of grace!
Grace is a necessity in a healthy marriage. When couples embrace grace, the fruit of the spirit sprouts (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control), the weeds of bitterness, resentment, and selfishness are choked out, and God’s loving example nourishes the roots of the marriage.
If you, like me, have not extended grace to your spouse as often as you should, do not be discouraged. There is hope for us! The final verse of the above passage notes that love never fails. This means with God’s help we can interact with our spouses gracefully by exercising patience, accepting one another completely, showing unconditional love, placing their needs above our own, enduring the unpleasant incidents that occur pop up from time to time.
To hear what others have to say about this topic, please visit the contributors over at Overflowing Grace. I also recommend reading this article: Four Elements of a Grace Based Marriage.
