Yesterday I said that there can be unaddressed wrongs in our past which continue to exert an influence on us. Just because something is in the past that doesn’t mean it has passed. [If you missed it, click here.]

That’s why forgiveness is so important.

Usually when we think about forgiveness we think about giving forgiveness. But yesterday we talked about seeking it. So I encouraged you to think about someone you may have wronged and apologize.

When you do that there can be a benefit to you personally; you can you move forward in your life with greater mental freedom, greater peace of mind, and more personal integrity before God.

But today let me focus on another benefit: You can bring healing to someone else’s life.

Think of a time when someone apologized to you. Do you remember how much better you felt? Do you remember how it gave you more peace knowing that someone was trying to right a wrong against you?

You could give that to someone else.

Hebrews 12:15 (NLT) is part of a wider passage with different reminders about how to keep the faith. It says, “Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” I don’t know about you but according to my line of thinking I’m pretty sure that unaddressed wrongs from the past can qualify as a “poisonous root of bitterness”!

Just because something is in the past that doesn’t mean it has passed.

So when you identify someone you may have wronged, and when you apologize, you may bring some unexpected healing into someone else’s life.

By Matthew Ruttan