Colossians 3:12–4:18

Be still: Lord, as I make space for you today, would you bring stillness to my heart and mind and prepare my soul to hear a fresh word from you today. Amen

Read: Colossians 3:12 – 4:18

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (v13)

Encounter: The author C. S. Lewis famously wrote in his book Mere Christianity that ‘Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive.’ Forgiveness is a universal ideal that everyone subscribes to. But the costliness and difficult work of forgiveness often means that it is a road far less travelled.

Forgiveness, however, isn’t optional for Christians - although we often treat it as such. In Colossians 3:13, Paul demands that we forgive one another. Jesus also taught us to pray ‘forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.’ (Matthew 6:12). Paul describes forgiveness in Colossians as a distinguishing characteristic of people who have been made alive in Christ – they are forgiven people who forgive people. And yet, we know all too well that we have untouched corners of our hearts where bitterness and unforgiveness stubbornly linger.

Often the barriers to forgiveness inside us are in the form of self-righteousness. We’re all familiar with the internal questions that go: ‘How can I forgive them when they did such and such? Or ‘Can’t you see that I’m not as bad as them?’ Paul knows how inclined the human heart is to self-justification and so he provides the remedy at the end of verse 13 – ‘Forgive as the Lord forgave you.’ If you’re struggling to forgive, begin by embracing a posture of humility and draw to mind what you have been forgiven for. 

As C. S. Lewis says elsewhere: * ‘To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.’

Apply: Is there someone I am struggling to forgive? Ask God to help you adopt a posture of humility – remember that you too have been forgiven. Then invite the Holy Spirit to empower you as you choose to extend forgiveness to that person once again.

Devote: Lord, thank you for your unwavering love and unending forgiveness given to me. Help me to extend that same forgiveness to others in a fresh way today.

* Reflections: THE NECESSITY OF FORGIVENESS By C.S. Lewis Institute on January 1, 2007