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.
Revenge imprisons us; forgiveness sets us free. (RBC)
