I hear story after story about how holding onto anger and bitterness harms not just relationships, but the actual emotional health of the person experiencing anger and bitterness. In Matthew 18, Jesus told a parable about the necessity of forgiving others. Those who refuse to forgive, he said, would only slam the door on their own prison cell. Instead, Jesus wants us to walk free in forgiveness.

A young Scottish woman made this discovery after spending several years behind emotional bars. Her father abandoned the family and took off to work in Saudi Arabia. Bitterness gripped her heart, and over time a nasty grudge against her father grew. Eventually she gave her life to Jesus, but still she refused to forgive her father. One day she learned the words of Jesus: “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” She took her Lord’s words to heart and wrote a letter to her father, telling him that because of Jesus, she forgave him for walking away. To her surprise, the heartbroken old man immediately wrote a reply, asking for her forgiveness ... and asking if he could come home.

Forgiveness sets you free – and then it sets others free. Jesus wants us to live in freedom so we can help change the world for Him.            

This is Luis Palau.