Meeting Jesus in the Differences

“Yes, I love you … but could you please stop leaving your things around the house?” God made us male and female, complementary yet different. We can choose to see the differences in our spouse as bewildering frustrations…or we can see them as opportunities to encounter Jesus and love more.

Snippet from the Show
In marriage, God is inviting us to take our initial love for each other to the next level:
To deepen it, purify it, and make it ever more like his love.

3 Keys to Navigating Differences

Take A Breath

If you happen to notice yourself feeling a little frustrated with your spouse, or a little disappointed or let down, it’s good to get curious and ask yourself:

• Why am I feeling that way?
• What’s the underlying assumption that I have?
• Have I done a good job at communicating those thoughts and expectations?

Your spouse is bringing something else to the table that could be listened to!

Trust While Calling Attention to It

When expectations remain hidden, just assumed, they can lead to disappointment and frustration when the other person is not abiding by our unspoken hopes.

If we see something, if we hear something or we sense something, we can call this to attention with our spouse in a Christ-centered way through charity and compassion that wills the good of the other.

Humility & Forgiveness

It takes just as much humility and love to say, “I forgive you.” When we truly forgive, from the heart, it’s as if we’re saying to our spouse, “Yes, you did something wrong, and it hurt me. But I see your heart. I see a lot of good in your heart—that the deepest part of your heart does not resonate with what you did. It is sorry and wants to change. I don’t want to hold this over you. I want us to be reconciled. I forgive you.”

We hurt each other, but as Jesus said on Calvary, we know not what we do. Let us, therefore, take on the compassionate heart of Jesus in our marriages.

Learn more by visiting ascensionpress.com/realmarriage!