Charis

When I was a student (over two decades ago now) a good friend and I used to meet up with our exhaustive bible concordance to delve into some word or other – hope, faith, etc. We’d look at where it was used and what the original Hebrew or Greek was that was translated into whatever English word we were focusing on and look into how else those original words were translated, and the context of the various passages. It was a way of looking at something and following whatever thread seemed to emerge.

Today I decided my morning would be spent with my exhaustive concordance exploring the word Grace with an academic mind (so feel free to ignore this post if you were just seeking another nice poem).

My studies followed many threads, but there was one that I thought I’d share:

In the new testament of the bible the English word Grace is almost exclusively from the Greek word Charis. Only one occasion is another Greek word used – Charizomai, which is translated as “in grace gave” in Galatians 3 v 18. Elsewhere that word is usually translated as forgive or forgave. The passage references the law and the promise. It provides a contrast between the old covenant (with Israel) and the new (through Christ). Under the old covenant laws we always fail and fall short, and need God’s forgiveness and mercy. But the new covenant gives us a different starting point, we are loved unconditionally and receive God’s grace. The human condition hasn’t changed – we are still flawed and imperfect people. And God hasn’t changed. But our relationship to God has, because we’ve been adopted as children.

A few years back I became friends with a couple who had come to Swansea seeking asylum. Shortly after arriving they had a daughter. Initially I thought that they had given her the Welsh name Carys, but then they explained that it was spelt like charismatic. Charis.

Grace. 
Interestingly the Welsh name Carys means Loved one. 

Interwoven threads…

I thought of Charis this morning and pictured her held in her mother’s arms. And I concluded that (for today at least) Grace is not about being showered with abundant undeserved gifts, it’s about being loved unconditionally by father/mother God and held in his/her arms.

God’s
Reaching
And
Complete
Embrace.