Paul has this tendency to combine two different words to get to something super important. He does this in Colossians 3.13 and Ephesians 4. This Greek word is charizomai.
Charizomai is based on the Greek word charis, which means grace. So, it's a type of forgiveness that is grace-laced. What is grace? Grace is unmerited favor. Again, notice this. It's a gift that I give, that I act and participate in, and that does not require anything from the other person.
Forgiveness needs to be framed as something that I participate in, that I'm doing, that I'm releasing an offense that somebody else has done to me. And it's not conditioned upon whether they've repented, whether they've done this or done that, or whether they haven't done this. It actually has to do with a lot more of my personal peace and my personal sanity so that I can move on.
Have you ever come to a point where you got tired of reading the Bible? Lysa TerKeurst understands how it feels when your heart gets disconnected and Jesus seems out of reach. Studying the Bible on our own can be intimidating — but we’ll never grow in our walk with Jesus unless we make reading Scripture more than just another thing on our Christian checklist. Do you want to dive deeper? Do you want the Bible to make sense and make a difference in how you live your life? This resource, "3 Bible Study Basics You Must Know" by Lysa TerKeurst, is for you.
Living in the peace we want doesn’t come from the absence of pain and chaos, but by knowing Jesus is with us in those things. If you’re longing for this kind of soul-settled assurance, join Dr. Joel Muddamalle in the pages of his new book, The Hidden Peace: Finding True Security, Strength, and Confidence Through Humility.
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Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Joel and his wife have four children and two dogs. If he doesn’t have a theology book in his hand, you can be sure he’s either coaching one of his kids in a sport, getting roped into a reel by his wife @almostindianwife, or doing his best to keep up his hoops game on the basketball court on Tuesday nights with the guys—then going for a cold plunge. Yeah, it’s a thing. Pre-order his book The Hidden Peace: Finding the Security, Strength, and Confidence Through Humility here.
