Ephesians 4: 31-32  Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,  and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

We have all experienced God’s mercy through the forgiveness of our sins.  “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?’” (Proverbs 20:9)  Not one of us.  “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”  (1 John 1:8)

In the Ephesians passage above, the word used for forgiveness here is charizomai.  It comes from the root word charis, which is the word for grace.  So charizomai means to be gracious; to give freely.

We are to extend the grace we received from Christ to others.  Knowing how much (and how often) God has forgiven us should move us to forgive others.  How can each of us hold others to a standard to which we do not even hold ourselves?

Gracious and loving God, even when we are at our worst, You are kind and loving and forgiving.  As Your beloved children, made in Your image, help us to see You in others.  Help us be forgiving.  Amen.  (Based on Luke 5:35-36, MSG)