Since God chose you to be the Holy People he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:12,13
My three boys argue as fiercely as they play hard. An innocent game of two-man touch morphs into tackle football and within minutes I have three crying boys standing in my kitchen pointing fingers at their offender.
But give them five minutes of pleading their case, asking forgiveness and giving {mommy-forced} hugs they are back at it again. Swinging on monkey bars and playing pass.
Little boys have a natural bend towards Colossians 3:13… They are quick to forgive and they are quick to forget.
This is a God-sized thing.
Are you quick to make allowance for the faults of your spouse and quick to forgive them for their offenses?
God gives us a Biblical mandate in Colossians to forgive. And forgiveness is made possible through Christ, who forgave us (Luke 23:24, Colossians 1:14). Forgiveness is “an act in which one person releases another from an offense – refusing to enact the penalty due him or her. To forgive is not to condone the sin as acceptable, to say it made no difference, or license repetition of it. Rather, forgiveness is a choice – a decision made to no longer hold an offense against another person*.” – J. Hayford
Forgiveness is a choice.
My boys are quick to forgive, not because they “feel like it” but because I direct them. I give them the words to say. I make them look each other in the eyes and say the words, “I forgive you.” And as a reward of their obedience to my parental mandate, fellowship is restored and back out they go. Playing hard and enjoying reconciliation.
Today, sweet friend, choose forgiveness. Not because you “feel like it” but because we are directed in Scripture. And as a reward of your obedience to the Father, enjoy fellowship restored through your reconciliation.
Father, since You chose me, today I choose You. Out of obedience I clothe myself with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience toward my spouse. I make allowance for his/her faults and forgive them today of their offenses. I remember, Lord, that You forgave me, so I must too forgive. Reconcile today all of the brokenness and hurt. And let me not be one who lends myself to grudges. In Jesus Name. Amen.
If you are choosing forgiveness today, as an act of faith, make a note in the comments and say, “I choose to forgive.” I would love to pray over you and your spouse today.
Becky Crenshaw 
I choose to forgive
Praise the Lord.
I choose to forgive.
Becky–I love that you’re helping your little guys practice forgiveness regularly and early in their lives. What a blessing that is!
I wonder sometimes whether learning to forgive is like strengthening a muscle–the more reps we do, the stronger that muscle gets. And oh how we need the strength and endurance of those “forgiveness muscles” more and more as the years go by. It’s so easy, though, to let them atrophy.
As for me, I’ve been in a season of learning to re-condition my own forgiveness muscles–not so much in my marriage, but in a few other relationships (my most recent post is actually on the same topic).
Thanks for the encouraging reminder, and the great picture of what forgiveness and reconciliation looks like in the day-to-day!
Oh, and yes. I choose to forgive!
i choose to forgive (why must it be so hard).
I choose to forgive.
I choose to forgive.
I choose to forgive!