You can't earn trust if you aren't willing to forgive your spouse. Forgiveness is the key ingredient that moves you beyond brokenness and toward healing.
Talking Points:
- Bitterness is a cancer that will kill you first – and then grieve the whole family. Ephesians 4:31-32
- Forgiveness is a miracle pill that will move your marriage past a trust-shattering mistake. Colossians 3:13
- Extending trust is reactive, but extending forgiveness is proactive.
Discussion:
- Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- On a scale from 1-10, how forgiving of a person are you? Explain your answer. What holds you back from scoring higher on the scale?
- Read Ephesians 4:31. How have you seen bitterness negatively impact your life or someone else’s life? Why is bitterness a waste of your time?
- In your own words, what does it mean that forgiveness is a gift you offer? What does that look like practically?
- Read Colossians 3:13. Why does it matter that God first forgave us? How should this affect the way you think about forgiving others?
- When you fail, how do you want your spouse to respond to you? What does that teach you about how you should respond when your spouse fails?
- Read Ephesians 4:32. Share how unforgiveness has impacted your marriage? List the ways that forgiveness can positively affect your marriage.
- Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?
