Lesson 13

Do I need forgiveness for my reactions?

Rebecca felt rejected when her husband didn’t want to be intimate with her as often as she wanted to be with him.  She was jealous of (and felt inferior to) the images he was watching online.  As the truth of it unfolded, Rebecca felt spiritually superior.  Then one day she stopped focusing on his sin and asked the Lord to reveal the innermost being of her own heart.  “Once the Holy Spirit revealed my sins of pride, self-righteousness, and rebellion, I was devastated.  I looked at his sin differently once the Lord revealed my own sin to me.  I had enough to deal with in my own life that I didn’t need to focus on anyone else’s sins.”

Matthew 7:5 – “…first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Rebecca, like many wives, was surprised at how quickly and easily she could fall into reactions that did not represent her commitment to live like Christ.  In prayer, she sought forgiveness from God for her ungodly reactions, knowing that He had already provided forgiveness through His shed blood.  Facing her need for forgiveness helped her begin the process of forgiving her husband.