The Grudge You Didn't Plan to Keep

No one I’ve ever met set out to become bitter. But it can happen. Somebody says something at a meeting, and it stings more than it should. A decision goes the other way, and nobody explains why. A friend doesn't call when you were sure they would. You tell yourself it's nothing, and most of the time you mean it. But some of those moments never quite leave. They get replayed on the drive home, then again a month later, then again a year later, and every time the story gets a little sharper.

That's how a grudge gets kept. Nobody decides to keep it. They just never get around to letting it go.

The writer of Hebrews saw this coming a long time ago:

Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness — without it no one will see the Lord. Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many, Hebrews 12:14-15.

He calls it a root. Roots grow quietly, underground, where nobody is looking. By the time anything shows above the surface, the root has been there a long while.

This Sunday at Cornerstone we begin a four-week series called Nothing Between Us, built on Paul's words in Ephesians 4:31-32: Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

All year our congregation has been studying what it means to be the body of Christ, knit together in love. In September we looked outward to our neighbors. In October we talked about the words we say to one another. November gets down to whatever is still standing between us — the old hurt, the grudge, the person we've been stepping around — and what the cross of Jesus does about it.

We'll spend the morning in Hebrews 12. We'll talk about why peace never happens by accident, and why the Bible uses a hunting word for chasing it. We'll look at where the phrase root of bitterness came from — Moses used it first, and the background will get your attention. We'll ask how one person's hurt so often ends up becoming a whole group's opinion.

And we'll spend time with Jesus, who had more reason than anyone who ever lived to be bitter, and wasn't. The same chapter in Hebrews says His blood speaks better things than the blood of Abel. Sunday we'll find out what it says.

Read Hebrews 12:1-15 this week. Then pray David's prayer from Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, God, and know my heart. Ask Him to show you if you've been holding onto anything longer than you meant to.

Come worship with us

You're welcome at Cornerstone this Sunday, whether you've been with us for years or have never walked through our doors. Our Bible classes for all ages begin at 9:45 a.m., and worship begins at 10:45. We start the morning with a devotional in song at 9:30, if you'd like to come early and sing.

One reminder: daylight saving time ends Sunday morning, so set your clocks back an hour Saturday night. You'll get an extra hour of sleep and still have time to be refreshed before class.

We're at 5051 Wilmington Pike in Centerville. Come as you are. If you're carrying something heavy, this is a good Sunday to set it down.