Unfaithfulness in marriage can lead to guilt and distrust, mistrust.

It can ruin a relationship.

But God is willing to forgive all sins when we come and repent.

That parable in Luke 15 is perhaps one of my favorite passages in all of

scripture where Jesus describes the prodigal son coming home and the forgiving father

who lavishes him with love because he's repentant. God can meet you if an affair has

occurred in your relationship.

We're going to hear a little bit about that today.

I'm John Fuller, joined by Dr. Greg Smalley and his wife, almost Dr. Aaron Smalley.

Getting closer, aren't you, Aaron?

Congratulations on that.

Thank you.

They lead our marriage department, and Aaron, you meet with clients on a regular basis.

You often deal, I think, with clients who have had an affair occur. And guilt, I imagine, is one of the bigger things that guilt and shame that have to be dealt with.

And that's why it's so important that both individuals are healing, because the one who has had the affair often

feels so much guilt and shame that it's hard for them to reopen and fully connect in the

relationship. And so one of the steps that's important in the recovery process is the

individual who's had the affair forgiving themselves, as well as receiving God's forgiveness.

So it's both, as well as receiving their spouse's forgiveness.

Oftentimes, the spouse is willing to forgive, even before the individual, if they're truly,

truly repentant, before the individual is willing to forgive themselves.

And, you know, months and months, even into years, that guilt and the shame is of the enemy.

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