How long can you hold a grudge? Acts 25:1-9

Many years ago my father spoke of something his mother had said about him that he learned of.  He was so hurt by it he could not forgive.  It was a story I heard numerous times as a child.  Later when I was an adult I heard him tell the story again, with as much hurt and bitterness in his voice as all those years before.  It still amazes me that we humans can hold a grudge for so long.  But, we have been reading in Acts much the same type of situation.

Well, this is beginning to sound like a broken record.  Once again we find Paul defending himself against the lies and hatred of the Jewish people.  He has been confined in prisons, on ships, and then under a house arrest for more than two years, all in an attempt to clear his name? "They (the top Jewish leaders), asked Festus if he wouldn't please do them a favor by sending Paul to Jerusalem to respond to their charges. A lie, of course—they had revived their old plot to set an ambush and kill him along the way." (Acts: 25:3)

The Jews just could/would not open their hearts to Jesus.  Even though they knew scripture and knew the stories of a Messiah and the description of the life and times of this man, they were blind to the reality of Jesus. They could not see The Light for what it was, truth and fulfillment of the promise of a Savior.  Thank you Jesus, for the times I had my eyes closed and you opened them, for softening my heart to embracing your goodness.  Amen.

Read the Acts 25:1-9 text here.