The Root of Bitterness ….. continued
Bitterness often stems from a warped view of God and His love. “How could a God of love allow____________?” You fill in the blank. We have all asked that question to some degree, at least internally. But why do we accredit bad circumstances to God when they could just be the result of bad choices or habitual sin. Most people with whom we share the love of Christ cannot reconcile a God of love with the situations that have unfairly occurred in their life. A warped view of God and His love seems to be the number one reason why people reject the gospel. How can we properly understand the essence of a God who IS love while we blame Him for acts of violence, seasons of grief, and experiences of loss in our lives? This is nothing more than bitterness of the heart, and it must be identified before it can be uprooted. Recognizing bitterness is essential to helping a lost person understand the love of a God who died to save them. It must also be recognized and uprooted in the child of God before rapid spiritual development can take place.
God loves us with a love that is hard for the human mind to fathom. Even the apostle Paul had an insatiable desire to “be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19). How can we possibly comprehend the love of someone who was willing to leave heaven, forsake His position, take on human form, suffer rejection, and be crucified for sinners who didn’t even appreciate his sacrifice? “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7-8). A steady gaze at the cross, where the love of God was demonstrated for all mankind, will remove all misconceptions and doubts of His love for us. This is a necessary step in preparing to remove bitterness from the heart. …. continued tomorrow
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