Read: Ephesians 4:31-32; Colossians 3:12-13

Aaron and his mom sat on the floor with one of his dresser drawers beside them. “I want to keep that!” Aaron said as Mom tossed a worn-out toy into a trash bag. Mom was helping him clean out his drawers, and she kept wanting to throw things away.

“Why keep all this junk?” Mom asked. “It doesn’t leave any room for all the good things you have.”

“It’s not junk!” said Aaron. “These are good things too.”

“Good things?” Mom pointed to a pair of broken sunglasses and a small motorcycle with only one wheel. “These don’t look like good things to me. They look like they should be dumped in the trash!”

Aaron picked up the motorcycle. “But this was my favorite motorcycle. It would still be good if Reece hadn’t broken it! He always wanted to play with it, and he took it home one day without asking. When he brought it back, a wheel was gone!” Aaron scowled. “It makes me mad when I think about it.”

“Aaron, that happened a long time ago,” Mom said gently.

“I don’t care,” said Aaron. “It still makes me really mad!”

Mom sighed. “I think you may need to put more than this junk in the trash.”

“What do you mean?” asked Aaron.

“It sounds like you’re hanging on to some anger and resentment. The Bible says to get rid of all bitterness and anger. That’s like dumping it in the trash, and I don’t think you’ve done that yet.”

Aaron spun the single wheel of his motorcycle. “I don’t know how.”

“To get rid of it, you need to give it to Jesus,” said Mom. “He’s forgiven you for all the wrong things you’ve done, and He wants you to do the same for Reece. I know it’s not easy, but He’ll help you do it—just like I’m helping you clean out the junk from your drawers. Trust Him to help you let go of the bitterness and anger in your heart and replace it with love so you can forgive Reece.”

Aaron was quiet for a moment, then slowly placed the broken motorcycle in the trash bag. He took a baseball mitt from the drawer. “Reece asked if he could borrow this.” Aaron smiled at Mom. “I’ll bring it to him tomorrow.”

–Pamela J. Kuhn

How about you? Are you holding a grudge against someone? It hurts when others wrong us, and it can be hard to forgive them. But you don’t have to do it on your own. If you trust in Jesus, He’s forgiven you for all the wrong things you’ve done, and He will help you forgive others. Trust Him to help you dump the junk in your heart and replace it with His love.

Today's Key Verse: Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger…Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: Don’t hold grudges