The message was about bitterness, what we feel when we harbor resentment against someone for some time.

God calls us to forgive, to demonstrate grace JUST AS God demonstrated grace to us. It is difficult but it will free us because: (1) forgiveness alone can stop the vicious cycle of blame and pain; (2) forgiveness alone has the power to break through the hard-calloused heart of the forgiven person; and (3) God has forgiven us.

If we take revenge, hurt the other person, or harbor resentment and bitterness against the other person, it might release some of the pain in us, but it actually ends up destroying us. It eats us up from the inside. It empowers the evil in us. It gives us excuses to do even more bad things. It leaves us in darkness.

Yet, if we hold back and seek to forgive, it is also painful. Some say it is like dying. Forgiveness is dying. But, it is a death that leads you to resurrection. To a new life. To healing. To freedom. To the light instead of the darkness. The pain and the death lead us to a new life of freedom instead of a life of bitterness and resentment. And as you do so, you are cutting off the fuel for the bitterness and resentment in your life. Your decision to forgive and hold back, not retaliate, although painful, leads you to a new life!