Read Ephesians 4:31-32
Most of us probably have someone in our lives that have hurt us in one way or another. We may even hold on to that hurt for many years. These verses talk about getting rid of our bitterness and anger and forgiving others just as God forgives us. Lyrics to the “Tenth Avenue North” song “Losing” say, “We think pain is owed apologies and then it will stop. Truth be told it doesn’t matter if they’re sorry or not.” The last part of this line is the part a lot of us miss or ignore. Who does the anger that we hold hurting? Our anger only hurts us, not the person we’re angry with. They might not even realize or care that they’ve hurt or upset us. However, by forgiving them we can find peace and a sense of relief; even lower our stress and the blockage that keeps us from listening to God. Remember that through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, God forgave us for all our sins; even the ones we do on a daily basis. Without the ‘un-forgiveness’ and hate dragging us down, others just might see God’s light shining a little brighter in us! – Karen Chappell
