Married to a Sinner?

I met my husband almost ten years ago. He was different from other guys. I wrote quite a bit about him in my journals actually. Forgot all about it until a couple weeks before our wedding day when I was skimming through them looking for "the list."

I documented how he wasn't your average car salesman. That he PRAYED with customers about NON car related issues. How he defended me one day when another guy at work was attacking me for being modest and wearing "so many layers." Apparently wearing a camisole under a regular shirt was prudish. How about classy? Don't get me started.

He had all the obvious things going for him. He was a Christian, loved his family, was funny, out-going, chivalrous, kind, attentive, attractive... not to mention he loved literature and played violin and guitar! Heck, the guy was writing songs about me before we even dated! *swoon*

There were little things that came up while dating. I knew he wasn't PERFECT. But it is one thing to date a sinner, and quite another to be married to one.

I think that the bond and union a married couple shares, and the fact that they are so intimately bound to each other, HEIGHTENS the reality of sin. You feel it more acutely, no? It stings. Occasionally bleeds. And if provoked, can become a gaping wound all over again.

At our wedding, as we exchanged our vows, we placed our hands on a crucifix that now hangs in our bedroom. It is a visual reminder for us that we are in this marriage WITH Christ. Crucified, bleeding, forgiving, loving... over and over and over again.

Oh to embody unconditional love and mercy!

Can you imagine what our GOD is like? We catch glimpses of Him in each other - small reflections of something bigger than we could ever dream up. Our God is BIG. Mighty to save. ALL loving. Forever. Forgiving. He is pouring out his MERCY!

I am married to a sinner. A sinner who is COVERED, just as I am covered, by the blood of the Lamb. Together we are working on sainthood. Together we are approaching the cross and trying to give each other the mercy we are receiving.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Luke 6:38
This passage has haunted me most of my life, as I am a hot-headed grudge holder. I love to shout out, "I will not forget this!" When I think about it though, it scares me. What if Christ said that to me? To you? To all of us?

That thought encourages me to be thankful that God has chosen to forgive and save me, and to keep offering the mercy I am receiving.

After all, my husband married a sinner too.