This past week, I’ve been busy getting my planters cleared out and the lawn furniture put away for the winter. As I was pulling up the plants, I was amazed at how large and long some of the roots were. In fact, there were a couple of plants I could hardly pull out because the roots were so huge and so thick. I had to really wrestle with them!
Hebrews 12:15 says, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Sometimes the root of unforgiveness runs deep. It may have taken many years to fester and grow, so uprooting our resentments and hurts may not be easy to do.
Craig Groeschel, in his book The Christian Atheist: Believing in God, but Living as if He Doesn’t Exist, tells a story about his own struggle with forgiveness after a family friend molested his little sister when she was in sixth grade:
"The root of bitterness grows in the soil of hurt that has not been dealt with properly. Unknown to me, a root of bitterness started to grow in my heart. Roots absorb and store, and my heart absorbed and stored hurt, anger, hatred, and thoughts of revenge. Love keeps no record of wrongs, but bitterness keeps detailed accounts."
How do we kill the roots of bitterness and free ourselves from those “detailed accounts” that may have taken root in our own hearts? Forgiving is most definitely easier said than done. With God’s power, however, He can bring us to a place where we can forgive. That place is, of course, the Cross. Remember, that’s where Jesus forgave us and that’s where we turn as well to forgive others who have hurt us.
The song “In Christ Alone” is a perfect reminder to us all that it’s only in the power of Christ we stand. Listen now>>
Pax,
Pastor Carol
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