Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. We hold onto the stones of past hurts, thinking they are our weapons of defense, not realizing that the weight of carrying them is breaking our own backs.
As we become willing to make amends to those we have harmed, we must also confront the people who have harmed us. Forgiveness is not about minimizing the offense or pretending it didn’t hurt. It is a conscious decision to drop the stone.
Why do we do it? Because we have been forgiven. When we remember the grace that God has poured over our own messy, rebellious lives, it becomes much harder to withhold that same grace from others. Forgiveness softens the road to amends, unlocking the prison cell of bitterness so we can finally walk free.
|
