Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Corrosion

I read the following statement the other day:

“Hatred and bitterness corrode the container in which it is carried.”

It reminded me of the following verses:

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31).

“Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” (Hebrews 12:15).

Many believers have spoiled their joy in the Lord, their testimony to the unsaved, and their usefulness in the service of Christ because of hatred and bitterness. These two things are like a slow-growing cancer, which, if left unchecked, eventually eats away at all that is for the glory of God.

The remedy is found in the next verse of Ephesians 4, which states, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (verse 32). And in Hebrews 12:14, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”