emancipated

I’m convinced that we can’t go through life harbouring grudges against people; it’s pointless. The Lord’s Prayer, which is the prayer that Jesus taught his followers, says, “Forgive us our sins"—and this is from the Greek—"as we have already forgiven those who sin against us.” Not “as we forgive those who sin against us,” but “as we have already forgiven them.” So we can’t go to God until we have forgiven those who sin against us.

I remember the night when I could finally pray, “Lord Jesus, I forgive them for what they did to me.” Then I started saying, “In the name of Jesus, please forgive me for harbouring murderous thoughts against them.” When I did that, I started to feel free from the hatred I was carrying towards them. It didn’t have a hold over me anymore.