The Freedom of ForgivenessGenesis 50:15-21

Shortly after the turn of the century, Japan invaded, conquered, and occupied Korea. Of all of the oppressors of Korea. Japan was the most ruthless. They overwhelmed the Koreans with a brutality that would sickenthe strongest stomachs. Their crimes against women and children wereghastly and inhuman. Many Koreans live today with physical and emotionalscars left from the Japanese occupation.

One group singled out for intense oppression was the Christians. When theJapanese army overpowered Korea one of the first things they did was boardup the evangelical churches and eject most of the foreign missionaries. Conquering nations have, for some reason, always felt that shutting upchurches would shut down Christ's work. It didn't work in Rome, it didn'twork in the former Soviet Union, and it will never work no matter where theoppressions continue to try to silence Jesus' witnesses. Somehow theJapanese felt their efforts would be different.

The conquerors started by refusing to allow churches to meet. Next theyjailed many of the key Christian leaders. The oppression continued tointensify. One pastor persistently asked his local Japanese police chieffor permission to meet for services. His nagging was finally accomodatedand the police chief offered to unlock his church...for one meeting.

It didn't take long for the word to travel. Committed Christians starvingfor an opportunity for unhindered worship quickly made their plans. Longbefore dawn on the promised Sunday, Korean families made their way to thechurch from miles around. They passed the staring eyes of their Japanesecaptors, but nothing was going to steal their joy. As they closed thedoors behind them they shut out the cares of oppression and shut in aburning spirit anxious to glorify their Lord.

The Korean church has always had a reputation as a singing church. Theirvoices of praise could not be concealed inside the little wooden framesanctuary. Song after song rang through the open windows for all the worldto hear. For a handful of peasants listening nearby, the last two songsthe congregation sang seemed suspended in time. It was during a stanza of"Nearer My God To Thee" that the Japanese police chief waiting outside gavethe orders. The people toward the back of the church could hear them whenthey barricaded the doors, but no one realized that they had doused thechurch with kerosene until they smelled smoke. The dried wooden framebuilding quickly ignited. Fumes filled the structure as tongues of flamebegan to engulf the interior walls.

There was an immediate rush for the windows. But momentary hope recoiled inhorror as the men climbing out the windows came crashing back in -- theirbodies had been ripped by a hail of bullets. The pastor knew it was the end. He knew that they had been set up.

With a calm that comes from confidence, he led his congregation in a hymnwhose words served a fitting farewell to earth and a loving call to heaven.The first few words were all the prompting the terrified worship per sneeded. With smoke buring their eyes, they instantly joined as one to singtheir hope and leave their legacy. Their song became a serenade to thehorrified and helpless witnesses outside. Their words also tugged at thehearts of the cruel men who oversaw this flaming execution of the innocent. "Alas! And did my Savior bleed? And did my Sovereign die? Would He devoteHis sacred head for such a worm as I?"

Just before the roof collapsed they sang the last verse, their words aneternal testimony to their faith. "But drops of grief can ne'er repay thedebt of love I owe. Here, Lord, I give myself away 'Tis all that I can do! At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden ofmy heart rolled away -- It was there by faith I received my sight, and nowI am happy all the day."

The music and wails of children were lost in a roar of flames. The bodiesthat once housed life fused with the charred rubble of a building that oncehoused a church, but the souls who left singing finished their chorus inthe throne room of God. Clearing the remains wouldn't take long, buterasing the hatred would take decades. For some of the relatives of thevictims the carnage was too much. Evil has stooped to a new low and thereseemed to be no way to curb their bitterness toward the Japanese.

In the decade that followed the bitterness was passed on to a newgeneration. The Japanese, although they were later defeated, remained ahated enemy. The monument the Koreans built at the location of the fire notonly memorialized the people who died, but it stood as a silent reminder totheir pain.

Peace? How could peace coexist with a bitterness deep as the marrow in thebones? Suffering? You better believe it! Suffering is part of life. Peoplehurt people. Almost all of us have experienced being hurt by someone elseat such a deep level that we were willing to walk away from them. Bitterness? We are willing to walk away from people, but cling tobitterness like a two year old clingin to their favorite blanket or doll. =

Maybe you've felt the hurt, pain, and bitterness that the Japanese peoplefelt when they watched their relatives and friends killed by their captors. Maybe you felt it when you came home and found that your spouse hadabandoned you. Maybe the hurt engulfed you when your integrity wasdestroyed by a series of well-timed lies. Did bitterness well up withinyou when you learned that your company had been bled dry by your partner?Did hatred begin to grow when your boyfriend made promises that he neverintened to keep? There are so many scenarios that lead us towards feelingsof bitterness, hatred, resentment, and anger because every single one ofus, all 6 billion people of this world, are continuously either being hurtor hurting someone else. The number of ways that bitterness finds its wayinto our heart are immeasurable. The tragedy is that when we allowbitterness, anger, and resentment to move into the neighborhood of ourheart it clamps down on our soul like shackles around the wrist and feet ofa prisoner.

I could spend all of my time painting portraits of brokenness, hatred,jealousy, envy, and bitterness this morning. If I were to do that, and youwere to look real hard, you would probably see yourself in at least one ofthe portraits, but I would rather have us do something more constructivethan simply acknowledging the fact that each and every one of us haveproblems with forgiving people who have wronged us.

It is my belief that among the list of endangered species, alongside thespotted owl and the snail darter, we ought to list those individuals whoare able to forgive as well as forget, those people who do not hate whenthey are hated, and most importantly, those who forgive with no stringsattached because they are ever-aware of God's forgiveness toward them. Forgiveness can free an imprisoned soul. Harboring hatred can paralyze thestrongest of persons. Forgiveness can heal the most fragmented offamilies. Holding on to bitterness will not only cause one relationship todie, but it will also seep into other relationships. It is time for us tolisten and learn the lesson on the lost art of forgiveness so that we mightbe able to experience freedom rather than imprisonment, life rather thandeath, and forgiveness rather than bitterness. Forgiveness will allow Almighty God to mend tattered relationships andbuild bridges where pits of pride have brought about isolation andseparation. Forgiveness will cause us to speak words like "I'm sorry,""Will you forgive me?" and "I forgive you" rather than "I told you so," "Icould never forgive her for that," "I hope he gets what's coming to him,"and "Didn't I tell you..."

In our lesson this morning I want to set the scene for our Scripturelesson, but you need to go back and read Genesis 37-50 to get the entiremoving story of Joseph and how God used him to save a nation and to healhis fragmented family.

Joseph was his father's favorite son. Joseph's father, Jacob, had made hima special coat and given his son preferential treatment which didn't setwell with his other brothers. To make matters worse, Joseph didn't sufferfrom a low self-esteem. He had a dream one night and so he shared it withhis brothers. In his dream all of the brothers were out binding up sheavesof grain when suddenly the brother's sheaves bowed down and Joseph's stoodtall. Well, you can imagine how that went over. (8) His brothers said tohim, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And theyhated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. (Genesis37:8) To make matters worse, Joseph had another dream and he shared itwith his whole family. This time even his mom and dad were pictured asserving him. That one didn't go over so well either.

The time came when Joseph was sent to check on his brothers who were grazing the flocks near Dothan. The brothers saw Joseph coming in thedistance and they said, (19) "Here comes that dreamer! Come now, let's killhim and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferociousanimal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams." (Genesis37:19-20) Well, to make a long story short, the brothers didn't killJoseph but they did stick him in a deep empty cistern used to hold water.While the brothers were sitting eating lunch they discussed what to do withhim. Finally they saw a caravan of Midianites coming and Judah said, "Whydon't we make some money off of the boy?" The brothers agreed and sold himfor twenty shekels of silver. The Midianites took Joseph into Egypt andsold him to Potiphar, who was one of Pharaoh's officials.

God was with Joseph. Joseph was tested while in Potiphar's house on morethan one occasion, but Joseph remained true to God and as a result Godblessed him. The day came when Pharaoh had a dream which confounded him. Pharaoh sent for all of the magicians and wise men of Egypt, but none ofthem could interpret it. God gave Joseph insight into Pharaoh's dream andso Joseph interpreted the dream in the Pharaoh's presence. As Josephinterpreted the dream, Pharaoh learned that there was going to be sevenyears of great abundance followed by seven years of great famine throughoutthe land. Joseph told Pharaoh that he needed to appoint a wise man to theposition of gathering one fifth of the abundance during the seven years sothat during the famine the people would have food. Pharaoh was so impressedwith Joseph that he put him in charge over the country of Egypt when Josephwas just thirty-years-old.

(42) Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it onJoseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a goldchain around his neck. (43) He had him ride in a chariot as hissecond-in-command, and men shouted before him, "Make way!" Thus he put himin charge of the whole land of Egypt. (Genesis 41:42-43)

During seven years of abundant harvest, Joseph, and those he appointed ascommissioners, worked to gather grain from throughout the entire land andthe amount of grain was so vast they even stopped keeping records. Thenthe famine came, and it was worse than any famine the Egyptians had everexperienced because it not only affected their land, but the people ofPalestine also were suffering from the famine. As a result of thewidespread hunger, Joseph's family was caught in the middle of despairbecause they didn't have enough food to eat. Joseph's father Jacob heardthere was food in Egypt and so he sent ten of his sons to Egypt to buygrain.

The journey to Egypt for the boys starts a long two year ordeal which islaced with frustration, recollection of pain and alienation, fear,disappointment, trickery, harshness, and finally reconciliation. Thepeople from near and far who journeyed to Egypt to buy grain were greetedby Joseph when they arrived since Joseph was the one who actually sold thegrain. When the brothers arrived, Joseph recognized them immediately, butsince twenty years had passed the brothers didn't recognize their cockylittle brother who grew up to be second-in-command in Egypt. When thebrothers came before Joseph, they bowed down and he spoke harshly to them.Joseph accused them of being spies, had all but one of them thrown in jail,and demanded the final brother bring back the youngest son to prove theywere not spies. This testing and turbulence between the unknown brotherJoseph and his other brothers continued until finally Joseph, cryinguncontrollably, revealed himself to his brothers.

You have to take time to read the entire story so that you can feel theemotion, but this is a struggle unlike any other recorded in the Bible. Joseph could have welcomed his brothers upon seeing them in Egypt. Hecould have forgiven them on the spot and thrown a great big party for them,but he didn't -- he struggled with what he felt like doing and what he knewGod wanted him to do.

On the other hand, Joseph could have had his brothers killed for what theydid to him when he was just a boy. Stranger things have happened, and itmust have been a traumatic event for Joseph, and an event which was lodgedin the memories of the brothers forever because when they arrived at thegrain house and Joseph harassed them, they said to one another,

(21) "...Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw howdistressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would notlisten; that's why this distress has come upon us." (22) Reuben replied,"Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Nowwe must give an account for his blood." (23) They did not realize thatJoseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter. (Genesis42:21-23)

Twenty years later and the guilt of selling their brother was stillhaunting Joseph's older brothers. "We're being punished for what we havedone." The moment their troubles in a foreign land started their guiltsurfaced and caused the brothers to turn on one another and point fingersof blame. Twenty years had not made the memory any easier for Josepheither. Five times in the story we find Joseph crying over the unfoldingevents with his brothers and on one occasion Joseph cries so loud that thepeople in the next room could hear him.

The struggle of wanting to forgive and reconcile and at the same timewanting to see the guilty parties wallowing in the consequences of theiractions and squirming in their guilt, is a battle that is still going on inthe hearts and minds of people today. The sins of his brothers had planteddeep-rooted seeds of bitterness and even though Joseph wanted to forgivethem, the struggle over the desire to make them suffer would have to bewon.

I would venture to say that we have many "Josephs" seated in our midst thismorning. Those of you who have been done wrong by family members,neighbors, co-workers, employers, spouses, or friends whom you trusted andloved. The evil acted out against you wasn't a mistake, it was a cold,calculated act of aggression and betrayal and as a result you've been cutto the quick. There is nothing more that you would rather see than towatch the assailant of your soul, spirit, and reputation suffer long andhard. At the same time you know that if you got your wish it would benefitnobody and probably only cause you guilt. You wish you could go back intime to the day when things were right and never allow them to go wrong,but that day is passed and now you are faced with the struggle. Thestruggle of waiting until he or she comes crawling to you to ask for yourforgiveness -- or for you to forgive, allow God to help you to genuinelymake a decision to forget, and forge a new relationship focused on thefuture rather than the hurtful past. Which will it be?

There is another side of the coin. You may be the one who has damaged ordestroyed a relationship, trust, or even a family with your self-seekingactions. You may have destroyed someone with your venomous tongue whichspoke lies and poison about someone you wanted to bring down. After youbrought him or her down and got what you wanted the guilt seeped in and nowyou know there is a better way of achieving your goals. You may havedevastated a young life in the midst of your madness by abusing yourchildren or someone else's children either physically, emotionally, orsexually. You are haunted day and night, night and day by the images whichpass through your head. The perversity of your actions disgust you, andyou wonder if you can go on living with yourself. You would like to speakto the person you've hurt, but you are so embarrassed you could never facethem. You may have been unfaithful to your husband or wife just to getback at him or her for taking you for granted. Now you realize that all youdid was drive a wedge between you and the one you pledged to love on yourwedding day. You would like to say "I'm sorry," and for the love you felton your wedding day to flourish once again, but your pride is still waitingfor him or her to enter the confessional. Young people, you may be hatefulto your parents and acting out of control just to show them who is incontrol of your life, but in the still of the night when you are lonely andyour big shot friends have gone their own way, you miss the closeness youused to have with your parents. You feel guilty for the way you treatthem. The struggle continues each and every day in the hearts of men,women, boys, and girls who have been hurt as well as those who have donethe hurting.

Will forgiveness ever come or will we continue to allow the fortress ofpride, ego, bitterness, and selfishness to isolate us from those we love,from those we need to reconcile with in our life?

I'm so thankful for God's Word. God's Word gives us the greatest bit ofinformation the world needs to know -- how to receive salvation and eternallife. God's Word also delivers to us directions and guidance for theeveryday affairs of life. Here in the book of Genesis we find guidance asto how to overcome the struggle and find the strength to forgive those whohave wronged us.

As Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, he instructed them to goback home and tell their father that they had found Joseph and that hewanted them to bring the entire family so that Joseph could give them landin Goshen where they would be well fed and have land for their herds. Thebrothers journeyed back to Canaan and told their father who was stunned. The family loaded up everybody, sixty-six persons in all, and they headedto Egypt.

The reunion of Joseph and his father is a powerful portrait of the loveshared by a father and son as the two men wrap their arms around oneanother and cry together. The family is set up and eventually Jacob dies. When the father dies the brothers who had put Joseph in a cistern and soldhim into slavery were scared to death that they were fixing to "gettheirs." "Will he kill us? Will he send us away and refuse to give us anymore grain?" The questions rambling around in their head were too many tocount, but finally one of them had a brilliant idea -- let's lie. Thisbrings us to our Scripture lesson for this morning. Take our yourScripture and let's read together.

(15) When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Whatif Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs wedid to him?" (16) So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father leftthese instructions before he died: (17) 'This is what you are to say toJoseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs theycommitted in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of theservants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Josephwept. (18) His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "Weare your slaves," they said. (19) But Joseph said to them, "Don't beafraid. Am I in the place of God? (20) You intended to harm me, but Godintended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving ofmany lives. (21) So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and yourchildren." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

True forgiveness. Not forgiveness to gain a father's approval. Notforgiveness so that he might be "one up" on his brothers for the rest oftheir lives. Not forgiveness for public approval. True forgiveness rangfrom the heart of Joseph to those who had meant him incredible harm.

Are you willing to forgive this morning? That is a tough question. It iseasy for us to say, "Well, I've always been able to forgive and go on." I'm not concerned with your ability to speak the words, "I forgive you,"but I am very concerned with the content of each of our hearts. Are ourhearts clean from the poison of malice, hatred, bitterness, and jealousythat is working slowly, but surely to destroy us from the inside out? Ifyou've been paralyzed by the lack of forgiveness, or if you've beenincapacitated because you know you've wronged someone and you desperatelyneed forgiveness, then you've come to the right place this morning.

There are a couple of lessons we can learn from the life of Joseph which weneed to hear this morning.

The first lesson is, we are not Almighty God -- holy and without sin. Weare people riddled with sin and constantly capable of doing precisely whathas been done to us.

(16) So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left theseinstructions before he died: (17) 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: Iask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed intreating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of theGod of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept. (18) Hisbrothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are yourslaves," they said. (19) But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I inthe place of God?

If we were God then I would have no problem with any of us looking down ournoses at the despicable, disgusting deeds of others, but we are not God. It is amazing to me the way in which we demonstrate a near perfect memorywhen it comes to remembering the wrongs committed against us, while at thesame time even our micro-memory fails when it comes to remembering the sinswe have committed towards others. Do you know what I am saying? I canremember instances from grade school when folks did me wrong and rememberthem like they were yesterday. When it comes to the ways I wronged peopleyesterday my mind grows pretty foggy. That ought not be, as a matter offact the opposite practice ought to be in place. Our forgiveness forothers should cloud our memories to the point of not being able to rememberhow, when, where, and why we were hurt.

On the other hand, if we are to have a long-term memory it should be ofthose times we have wronged others. This is not some self-defeatist,martyr complex I am wishing on any of us, but rather if each and every oneof us is able to view full force our own disgusting actions and behaviorstowards others then we will be much more forgiving of others.

The problem that arises is the categorization of "sins" committed againstothers. You see we have so categorized everything that we now even havetwo categories for lying -- there are "little white lies" and "lies." It'snot wrong to tell "little white lies" but boy can the full fledged "lying"get you into trouble. I'm sorry, but I have to come clean before you thismorning and tell you that all the lies I've told and will ever tell haveall been great big full grown lies. Folks there is no such thing as"little white lies." Show me where God categorizes lies, or murders, orstealing, or oppressing the poor and alienated, or jealousy, or prejudice,or being judgmental and I'll buy into your program. The simple fact of thematter is that all of us liars, murderers, persons who harbor bitterness orjealousy, thieves, etc. are all playing on the same playing field. We haveall wronged our brothers and sisters whether we view our misdeeds, acts ofaggression, and anger as lesser than or greater than the wrongs of others.If we can keep this in mind then the dam of self-righteousness will bebroken and the waters of forgiveness will flow. I'm sure some of you arehaving problems with this, but let me share with you, not my opinion, butGod's Word.

(9) Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Donot be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterersnor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders (10) nor thieves nor thegreedy nor drunkards nor slanders nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom ofGod. (11) And that is what some of you were. ( I Corinthians 6:9-11)

(8) We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. (9) We also knowthat law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, theungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill theirfathers and mothers, for murderers, (10) adulterers and perverts, for slavetraders and liars and perjurers -- and for whatever else is contrary tosound doctrine (11) that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessedGod, which he entrusted to me. (I Timothy 1:8-11)

(14) "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the rightto the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (15)Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral,the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practicesfalsehood." (Revelation 22:14-15)

Oh, I almost forgot something, the last Scripture I read is followed inverse 16 with these words, (16) "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give youthis testimony for the churches..." Isn't that interesting? Jesus lumpsthose who practice falsehood and murders in the same sentence.

That brings us right back to the pressing need at hand -- folks we need tobe impacted by our evil and unjust actions, thoughts, and attitudes towardsothers so that we might be more compassionate when it comes to forgivingothers. We are not God, but we are merely human beings -- each one of us,and we are all cut out of the same cloth.

The second lesson is, as horrible and devastating as our experiences havebeen, God can use them for good when others intend evil. After Joseph'sbrothers heard him say that he wasn't God to hand down judgments and decreepunishment they heard him say something fascinating; (20) "You intended toharm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done,the saving of many lives." I know how difficult it is to look through thelens of faith and see each and every experience as being an opportunity forGod to work for good. Theoretically that sounds good, positive, andadmirable, but practically speaking...look into the eyes of a young motherwho has just found out her newborn baby has AIDS because of daddy'sinfidelity. Take the hand of an eleven year-old boy who has been sexuallyhumiliated and abused and tell him the purpose for his suffering. Flashyour pious smile into the face of a wife who has just had her husband walkout on her and the children and tell her there is a reason for what'shappening. I know how hard it is to have the kind of faith that Josephdemonstrated, but we certainly need to pray for God to move us further inthat direction.

It is interesting how people respond while the storm clouds are swirlingoverhead and dumping buckets of water on our head. Some of those that aremost negative turn out to be the most sound after the storm clouds pass. Pray for God to carry you through the storm and give you the eyes to seethe other side so that you might know that He will use each and everyexperience of our life to bring about good rather than evil.

In the story that I told you at the beginning of our study we can easilysee how bitterness came seep in and effect generations to come. What youneed to know is that not all Japanese and Korean people hate each othertoday. Hope finally began to blossom in 1972.

A group of Japanese pastors traveling through Korea came upon the memorialcommemorating the horrible incineration of the Korean worshippers at thehands of their Japanese captors. When they read the details of the tragedyand the names of their spiritual brothers and sisters wh had perished, theywere overcome with shame. Their country had sinned and even though none ofthem were personally involved (some were not even born at the time of thetragedy), they still felt a national guilt that could not be excused.

They returned to Japan committed to right a wrong. There was an immediateoutpouring of love from their fellow believers. They raised ten million yen($25,000). The money was transferred through proper channels and abeautiful white church building was built on the site of the tragedy.

When the dedication service for the new building was held a delegation fromJapan joined the relatives and special guests. Although their generositywas acknowledged and their attempts at making peace were appreciated, thememories still hung like storm clouds over their heads. Hatred preservespain. It keeps wounds open and the hurts fresh. The Koreans' bitternesshad festered for decades. Christian brothers and sisters or not, theseJapanese were descendants of a ruthless enemy.

The speeches were made, the details of the tragedy recalled, and the namesof the dead were honored. It was time to bring the service to a close. Someone in charge of the agenda thought it would be appropriate to concludewith the same two songs that were sung the day the church was burned.

The song leader began the words to "Nearer My God To Thee." But somethingremarkable happened as the voices mingled on the familiar melody. As thememories of the past mixed with the truth of the song, resistance startedto melt. The inspiration that gave hope to a doomed collection ofchurchgoers in a past generation gave hope once more.

The song leader closed the service with the hymn, "At The Cross." Thenormally stoic Japanese could not contain themselves. The tears that beganto fill their eyes during the song suddenly gushed from deep inside. Theyturned to their Korean spiritual relatives and begged them to forgive them.

The guarded, calloused hearts of the Koreans were not quick to surrender.But the love of the Japanese believers -- unintimidated by decades ofhatred tore at the Koreans' emotions.

At the corss, at the cross

Where I first saw the light,

And the burden of my heart rolled away...

One Korean turned toward a Japanese brother. Then another. And then thefloodgates holding back a wave of emotion let go. The Koreans met their newJapanese friends in the middle. They clung to each other and wept. Japanesetears of repentance and Korean tears of forgiveness intermingled to bathethe nightmarish, hate-filled site with a newfound atmosphere of forgivenessand reconciliation. (Little House on the Freeway, Tim Kimmel, p. 56-61)

My friend, if you are in need of God's healing touch to mend some brokenrelationship in your life then you have come to the right place thismorning. What happened in the lives of our Korean and Japanese brothers andsisters can happen in your life, your home, your heart as well. Won't yougive up your bitterness and hatred in exchange for the life and healingthat only Jesus can bring?