Bitterness produces negative faith which causes us to be double-minded, wavering, tossed to and fro.
It is the expectation that things will go wrong!
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you along with malice. And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Eph. 4:31-32
Unforgiveness births bitterness!
Failure to obey the law of love will separate you from Christ. Bitterness will separate you from Jesus. He is love ….bitterness is hatred.
The key word in vs 32 (above) is as. The word AS means equal to.
We are told to forgive just AS God has forgiven you. Luke 6:38 says, “for by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
Just AS….. God will forgive you as you forgive others. I guess that means if I don’t forgive others………He will not forgive me just as I will not forgive others.
I think these two scriptures can be summed up like this: “Jesus is asking you/me, “how do you want me to forgive you, the same way you forgive others?”
Kind of like what we wrote about a couple of days ago….how we treat others…is that the way we want to be treated? Would we want Jesus to treat us as rudely as we treat our friends or family?
The scripture reads……”just as….” Equally to…….
To me that is powerful!
Jesus watches us to see how we love, how we treat others and how we forgive them. Then He can see how we want to be forgiven, loved and treated.
We set the standard of measure!
You are the only one who can stop your bitterness, negative attitude and selfishness.
Love can drive out the root of bitterness. Love will destroy the root of bitterness.
Love will remove selfishness, offense, and unforgiveness. It is a choice you make!
Your future is held by your choices.
Are we rooted and grounded in love!
In the winter a tree will dig its roots deeply into the earth to gain nourishment and receive restoration from a season of producing fruit.
A tree stretches its roots deep down into the earth and begins a cycle of preservation. During the winter the sap flows in the roots up through the trunk and out to the branches.
Life is being given at the base level. Sap feeds a tree at the root level.
For Believers the Holy Spirit feeds us through our spirit when nothing seems to be going right in our lives.
The Holy Spirit enriches us on the inside, the area no one sees. We must be patient and have faith in God’s word. He will nourish us through His word.
God is faithful to perform His word and it will not return void.
When you act on the word of God you use your hope to tap into faith.
We must dig our roots deep into God and concentrate on the business of preservation and restoration, not only for ourselves but for those around us as well.
Jesus loves me!
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