Abandoning the Self-Righteous Marriage

As a teenager I grew up in church where the concept of grace was relegated to a theology or the essential piece of sharing the gospel, not implementing in my relationships. Somehow, this important attitude or way of relating to my spouse was shelved. Little did I know, the absence of grace led to self-righteous behavior which was quenching the spirit and hurting my ability to lead my marriage.

 If you’re anything like me, grace is accepted conceptually, but the struggle with application is real! Perhaps the most difficult relationship to gracefully manage is marriage. Rom. 5:1 -2 states that we exist in relationship with God by the grace in which “we stand”. Meaning, the platform or foundation by which God dispenses salvation and “right standing” is grace. He doesn’t shelf it, it continues as we progress in our walk. Re-engage helped me to understand that we are not only recipients of grace, but we are also stewards of God’s grace (1 Pet 4:10).

We operate from the place in which we stand. In the context of marriage this would mean qualifying our spouse based on the basis of unmerited favor and not based on how well they manage to modify their behavior to our liking.  

Re-engage is a process that helps marriages find the tools, discipline and passion to mirror the ecology of Christ and the Church. This course equipped my marriage to function in response to God, not to imperfect behavior. I invite you to reengage and discover the wonderful things God is doing in marriages at Real Life.