In Ephesians 4:32, Paul gave some great advice to enable the church to get along with each other: "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." We have already looked at what kindness and tender hearted mean; today, we examine the phrase, "forgiving one another." How might your family, church and friendships be impacted if this simple command was followed. The Greek word for forgiveness is charizomai and comes from the root word charis which means grace. Forgiveness can be something you give to someone, not because they deserve it, but because of your extending grace and mercy. The word is in the present tense which means that it is to be continuous.
The Preachers Outline and Sermon Bible explains forgiveness as follows: "The word "forgiving" means to be gracious to a person, to pardon him for some wrong done. Note that the person has done wrong; he has hurt and caused us pain. But the command is to still forgive him." Notice that the emphasis is not placed on the wrong (which is what we generally want to focus on), but on the response to the wrong. When the stress is placed on the wrong, the attitude shifts from forgiving to revengeful. To be more forgiving we must focus on the grace we have received from God and not the action that has caused us pain. The world will tell you to do the opposite, i.e. "make them pay."
Today, walk in forgiveness. Be quick to forgive and then pray for God's help to forget the incident. The enemy loves to run reruns through your head to get you to focus on the wrong. Don't fall for it; focus on the grace. You will be much happier.
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