FEBRUARY 5, 2013
The
Lesson
Read: Romans
12:14-21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. —Romans 12:21
One
summer I was at a gathering of old high school acquaintances when
someone
behind me tapped me on my shoulder. As my eyes drifted over
the woman’s name
tag, my mind drifted back in time. I remembered a
tightly folded note that had
been shoved through the slot on my locker.
It had contained cruel words of
rejection that had shamed me and crushed
my spirit. I remember thinking, Somebody
needs to teach you a lesson
on how to treat people! Although I felt as if I were reliving my
adolescent
pain, I mustered up my best fake smile; and insincere words began
coming
out of my mouth.
We
began to converse. A sad story of a difficult upbringing and of an
unhappy
marriage began to pour out of her. As it did, the words “root
of bitterness”
from Hebrews 12:15 popped into my head. That’s what
I’m feeling, I thought. After all these years, I still had
a deep root of
bitterness hidden within me, twisting around and strangling my
heart.
Then
these words came to my mind: “Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil
with good” (Rom. 12:21).
We
talked. We even shared some tears. Neither of us mentioned the
long-ago
incident. God taught someone a lesson that afternoon—a lesson
of forgiveness
and of letting go of bitterness. He taught it to me.
Dear Lord, please help me not to harbor resentment
and bitterness in my heart. Through the power
of the Holy Spirit, enable me to let go of my
bitterness and forgive those who have hurt me.
Revenge imprisons us; forgiveness sets us free.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
