Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
1 Corinthians 13:5 NLT
I was getting my keys out of my purse over the weekend when I realized that I had an inordinate amount of receipts. There were receipts for food purchases, clothing items, household things, and more. As I was grabbing my keys, I heard very clearly, "throw those receipts away". I know that doesn't seem like deep revelation, but I started thinking about what receipts are.
Generally, receipts are proof of purchase. When you pay for items you are handed a receipt; documentation that you have legal right to the item your purchased. In our current culture, receipts have taken on a more general meaning. When we say we have "receipts" we are saying that we have proof - video proof, written proof, or some other verifiable means to prove what we said is true.
Here's the thing: God was telling me even though I have legal right to some things I need to still throw it away. I have a right to be upset with my husband about some things - I have the "receipt" to prove my case, but if we are going to move forward I need to throw it away - let it go! I have a great case to back up why I behave the way I do - I got receipts - but if we are going to be the great couple God has called us to be I need to throw them away and embrace God's way.
You may have the receipt to prove why you are hurt. You may have the receipt to prove why you are afraid. You may have the receipt to prove why you act the way you act, but it is time to throw it away. We must stop keeping score or as the scriptures says in 1 Corinthians 13:5, we must keep "no record of being wronged".
If you are going to move forward, you can't continue to hold onto the receipts of the past. I had receipts in my purse for things that are long gone - food that had been eaten, clothes that had been worn, detergents and hair products that had been used - the receipts were of no use. Why hold onto it? All those receipts did was create clutter. They took up space. They added no value.
The physical receipts that I had in my purse are just like the emotional receipts that we hold in our hearts. They take up space but have no value. They are cluttering our minds and our hearts. They are preventing us from embracing the life that we could have because we are holding on to memories of things long gone.
At some point, we are going to have to really trust God with our lives. He made the ultimate purchase over 2,000 years ago. He purchased our freedom with His shed blood. He redeemed us from the enemy, and that's the only real receipt we need to hold onto - His finished work!
Do you have receipts for things that have happened in your marriage? Are you holding on to past hurts and offenses? Is there any one thing that you can throw away before the end of this year?
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