“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).
I bet many of you sang that line when you read it from the famous Hymn. What does it mean to rejoice always in the Lord? To me, when I think of the word rejoice I usually think of being extremely happy to the point of excitement, when something good is going on.
In Greek, the word translated to rejoice is χαίρω, charió, (Khah’-ee-ro) which literally means to be “favorably disposed to God’s grace” (HELPS Word-studies). It is very similar to the words translated to “grace” and “joy.”
This puts a whole new meaning on the word rejoice. It’s not just “showing great joy or delight” (dictionary definition) in something but to experience God’s grace. Paul writes this line while he is in a Roman prison. It feels like there was not much to rejoice in there but he was still experiencing God’s grace in that place and was reminding readers to do the same. No matter the situation we should always show great joy or delight in the grace given to us through Christ.
-By Andrew, Program Coordinator
