In Christian marriages there are three things that God has given that give us a definite advantage when it comes to making relationships work. Along with the 7 characteristics of a loving person, there are some tools we have to use to make our relationships better. These 3 tools are: the love of God on the inside of us, the power of reconciliation and the power of forgiveness. Let me explain.
1. The Love of God is given to us. In Romans 5:5, we read that the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts. That means we have been liberally filled with the love of God on the inside of us. His supply never runs dry and neither should ours.
2. God has given us the ministry of reconciliation. As believers, that is powerful. We can help others come to Christ, reconciling the world to God. In relationships we can be reconcilers as well. We can be the ones who bring things together. We can become a catalyst of reconciliation.
3. God has demonstrated the power of forgiveness to us, and we get to do the same in our relationships. There will be times we hurt one another, intentionally or unintentionally. We do need to be forgivers. We don’t stay stuck in the rut of unforgiveness, we move toward godliness when we forgive.
None of these three tools happen automatically. They have to be developed and exercised! We want the best relationship in the world, we need to be the best lovers, reconcilers and forgivers in the world. I know that is something that we can do!