Forgiveness, Part 1

One of the keys to living the life God wants you to live is in knowing the power of forgiveness. You must learn to let other people off the hook for wrongs they have committed against you. Too many times people allow themselves to become bitter because of what they have suffered in life. They see the way they have been treated and they resent the world for the abuse they have suffered. If you find yourself in that situation today, you are keeping yourself from truly experiencing anything positive in life. You will become more and more bitter, and any sense of hope you have will rapidly shrink and eventually disappear entirely.

Most people do not want to live in bitterness and despair. Being unhappy is not anyone's original goal or ambition in life, but many people hold on to their bitterness instead of forgiving those who have hurt them. If you want hope in your life, you won't find it as long as you look in your past at wrongs you have suffered. You can only have hope when you look to the future and release the past. You can only truly look forward and release the past after you have forgiven those who have harmed you.

Give up your right to hold a grudge and to be angry. Practice forgiveness.