Law and Gospel

My husband and I often talk about the difference between living by the law and living by the gospel. I fear that for much of my life I have lived by the law...rules that kept me in bounds but didn't offer much joy. To live by the gospel means that because God loves me, I do the loving thing in the relationships and roles of my life. What a difference.

My husband was asked to read a novel written by a friend, a novel in which a young woman avoids pre-marital sex because it is against the teaching of her church. What if we taught that we avoid pre-marital sex because through God's love of us we have learned what honoring each other means, what cherishing the relationship means. 

In what circumstances in my life can I choose to do the loving thing  because I know of God's love for me?

Blessings-Penny