The Hesed Love Of God

Each and every day, as we walk the life of a Christian, the love of God should take central stage, but do we really have a grasp on what that means?

The love of God seems to be an endless debate, especially in recent days. I’ve heard the arguments, listened as many re-cast the love of God in terms of human understanding. Only, the reality is that this love is demonstrated in a way we would least expect.

God’s love is displayed in the way He allowed the brutal murder of His only Son. God’s love shines in sacrifice and blood and death. God’s love isn’t some human, fluffy romance novel, feel good, self-serving emotion. In contrast, the love of God is passion that engages justice, requires holiness and lays down its very life to provide us with a choice, the opportunity for salvation.

God’s love is bound up in the message of the cross. By pouring His love into the cross God hides His love from those who would reject His reign.

In Matthew 9:13 Jesus said, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ ” And in Matthew 12:7, Jesus told the Pharisees “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”

In these two verses Jesus is quoting from Hosea 6:6 where God says, "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice. And acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings."

The Hebrew word used for mercy in this verse is “Hesed”. God says, "I desire hesed."

Books have been written on the meaning of Hesed and when we read the word mercy we don’t even scratch the surface of what Jesus is trying to say. I can’t begin to do justice to the term in this one blog post, but consider the implications.

Michael Card says, “'Hesed' is a Hebrew word that describes the indescribable, that defines the un-definable. Put simply, hesed is the defining characteristic of God in the Old Testament."

Hesed is connected with grace, mercy, truth and the covenant keeping love of God. Hesed is personal and relational. And most of all, hesed is the love of God reflected in terms of covenant. The hesed love of God for His people is all about them living under His reign.

The hesed love of God is about the people of God living under His reign.

Isn’t this what the cross was all about? The kingdom of God came to earth. Jesus died, was buried and rose again so we could find forgiveness and the invitation to enter into a new kingdom, rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son.

So that we could find salvation in an everlasting covenant. So that we could live under the perfect reign of a loving God.

This hesed love of God is reflected when people love Him, serve Him, seek to be like Him and give Him thanks while living under His rule. It is mercy. It is Grace. It is Relationship.

The love of God is the cross of Christ transforming lives. This is how we practice the meaning of the Christian life. We live the hesed love of God, making the invisible kingdom of God visible. Jesus told us to learn what this means, and to practice this truth with our lives.

I desire hesed, not religion.

May the loving-kindness of God be expressed in your life today and always as you come in contact with those around you. Then you will truly be revealing the love of God in the World!

God Bless
Roger

(the idea for this article came from "Sojourner's Journey", April 13, 2011)

WHAT IS A “GOOD CHRISTIAN”

I was recently reading an article by a preacher by the name of Francis Chan that really struck a cord with me. Here are some excerpts from that article and some of my thoughts included.

I think it's time we stop asking ourselves the question: "Am I a good Christian?" We live in a time when the term "Christian" has been so diluted that millions of immoral but nice people genuinely consider themselves "good Christians." We have reduced the idea of a good Christian to someone who believes in Jesus, loves his or her family, and attends church regularly. Others will label you a good Christian even though your life has no semblance to the way Christ spent His days on earth. Perhaps we should start asking the question: "Am I a good Christ?" In other words, do I look anything like Jesus? This question never even entered my mind until a friend of mine made a passing comment to me one day.

Dan is a long time friend of mine. In fact, he's the pastor who performed my wedding. He was talking to me about another pastor named Von. Von has been working with youth in the San Diego area for decades. Many of his students have gone on to become missionaries and powerful servants of God. Dan described a trip to Tijuana, Mexico, with Pastor Von. (Von has been ministering to the poor in the dumps of Tijuana for years.) Dan didn't speak of the awful living conditions of those who made their homes amidst the rubbish. What impacted Dan the most was the relationship he saw between Von and the people of this community. He spoke of the compassion, sacrifice, and love that he witnessed in Von's words and actions as he held these malnourished and un-bathed children. Then he made the statement that sent me reeling:

"The day I spent with Von was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus." Dan explained that the whole experience was so eerie because he kept thinking to himself: "If Jesus were still walking on Earth in the flesh, this is what it would feel like to walk alongside of Him!"

After that discussion, I kept wondering if anyone had ever said that about me-"The day I spent with Francis was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus." The answer was an obvious "no." Would any honest person say that about you?

What bothered me was not that I hadn't "arrived," but that I wasn't even heading in the right direction. I hadn't made it my goal to resemble Christ. I wasn't striving to become the kind of person who could be mistaken for Jesus Christ. Isn't it ironic that a man can be known as a successful pastor, speaker, and CHRISTian even if his life doesn't resemble Christ's?

In 1 John 2:6 it says, “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” Are we living in obedience to that instruction of scripture, have we redefined what it means, or have we just ignored it altogether. It is more than a little disturbing isn’t it?

As Christians we are called to become more like Jesus every day. We should not just claim Jesus as our Savior, and then go back about our business, ignoring his instruction and commandments. Being a Christian is more than just trying to be a good person! Being a Christian is becoming more like Jesus!

Pray about these thoughts. Take them to heart, and hopefully we will become real disciples of Jesus Christ, and others will say about us, “The day I spent with (put your name here) was like walking with Jesus.”

Yours in Christ
Roger