In this slippery tilting world
your heart is one sure thing.
You love me always, whether
I am striding in the right direction
or fallen in a patch of thorns,
listening raptly to your voice
or indulging my addictions,
desperately trying to feel good.
Unfailing love: hesed, the Hebrews said.
This is what we long for all our lives,
and this is Who you are!
We cannot shatter, disillusion,
wear away your tenderness.
You are true love with no beginning
and no ending, always potent,
always steady, always ready to receive
the bullheaded son or daughter
who returns to you, and finds at last
where the source of meaning is.
Your heartbeat never falters,
never skips a beat, won’t race
or turn erratic. You are love,
and I can crawl into your lap
or batter you with angry fists
or crucify you, tearing at your heart.
I've done it all, and more,
unfaithful to the core.
Yet you keep right on loving,
though I know you’re disappointed
with this inner instability
and all the hurt it means for me;
though you would be sad
if I would turn away from all that's good
and choose instead what turns to rot
and spreads infection through my soul.
The perfect Parent, you forgive your child
when I run to you for pardon,
acknowledging my fault.
And finally I am ready to accept
your loving smile when I succeed,
your loving hand-up when I fail,
your totally consistent love.
I cannot make you love me more.
Your love just IS, and I will dive into
the wonder of it all and live inside
unfailing love.
During my last year in seminary my husband and I took out a loan to buy tickets and joined the group of students traveling to Israel to fulfill a course requirement. I learned a lot as we visited sites where key biblical events took place long ago.
One afternoon we were sitting at an outdoor table when a craftsman came around to see who might want to order a silver ring with a name or name abbreviation carved into it, whatever you might choose. He was speaking English, obviously used to working with tourists. When he came to me I told him that yes, I would order a ring. On it, would he please carve this: חֶסֶד !
“Hesed!” he exclaimed. “How do you know that word?”
“Well, we are seminary students,” I answered. “We study Hebrew!”
He was startled but obviously delighted. And so was I. That ring is still on my hand, 19 years later. It is a constant reminder of a precious truth that comforts me.
When our Hebrew professor had introduced that word hesed to us, I had been stunned. It was the word used for God’s love, a word so full of meaning in Hebrew that no one word by itself in English could match it. Suddenly many biblical texts had new meaning for me.
Of course the context of a word matters. Think about this: do you love coffee? Do you love going to concerts? Do you love your spouse? Do you love that best friend who is your safe place? Do you love the difficult neighbor next door?
That key Hebrew word hesed can have a slightly different connotation depending on the context, too. But even in the same context our great English translations have chosen different ways to communicate its meaning. Compare these:
ESV Psalm 36:7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
NAS Psalm 36:7 How precious is Thy lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Thy wings.
NET Psalm 36:7 How preciousis your loyal love, O God! The human race finds shelter under your wings.
NIV Psalm 36:7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
NJB Psalm 36:7 how precious, God, is your faithful love. So the children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
We struggled to find a way to translate this into Nyarafolo! The one that worked best was bànguɔ dɛnigɛ, “love without end”. The word for love, dɛnigɛ, had been created by new Nyarafolo believers, adding a noun suffix to the verb that means “to please or delight, to like”. This concept of a love that never ends, never changes when its object does wrong—is always ready to forgive when repentance is there—was astonishing to them. And working through this made it deeply astounding to me.
I realized that I had not grappled with the depth and breadth of God’s love. Just referencing the various translations noted above, it is steadfast, lovingly kind, loyal, unfailing and faithful. When you look up hesed in the Holladay lexicon, this is a summary of what you get as a definition: a) obligation to the community—loyalty, faithfulness, b) kindness, grace. The word “love” does not even appear! Others add these qualities to their definition: goodness, mercies, fidelity, lovingkindness.
You can see the challenge that it is for us to try to understand and express the incredible goodness and multiple facets of God’s love. Human love (between husband and wife, family members, friends) is expressed by a different word, even when it refers to loving God—there, it is אהב (ahab/ahav) which can mean: like, love, feel affection for (depending on the context). It is the one that tells us, humans, to love God:
You must love the LORD your God and do what he requires . . . (NET Deuteronomy 11:1a)
As the ISBE Bible Dictionary says of these terms for love:
“Love, whether used of God or man, is an earnest and anxious desire for and an active and beneficent interest in the well-being of the one loved. Different degrees and manifestations of this affection are recognized in the Scriptures according to the circumstances and relations of life.”
Now let’s think about the boundless mercy and grace that is included in hesed, the love that God has for us humans. Why should we trust it? Because it is the reason why he pays attention to us, earnestly desiring our well-being—even to the point of becoming human to rescue us by paying the penalty for our wrong-doing. And his love is trustworthy, with no end or beginning, completely good, and loyal to those who belong him to him.
So how are we to “love” God? As I said in the poem above, one way is to respond to him by living inside his love. We open ourselves up to all that he wants to pour into us. We do what he wants us to do, as Deuteronomy 11:1 and many other verses remind us. Living that way shows that we appreciate his goodness and love, that we trust his infinite wisdom. It shows that we care about him and his plans for us. We do not want to disappoint him.
It’s like when, as children, we looked up to someone who truly showed love for us and then did what we could to make them know that they were appreciated. My dad was delighted in my avid reading when I was only seven, and gave me a notebook; I was supposed to make a list in it of every book I read. I knew that I was missing putting quite a few into the notebook, just racing to the next story I could find. The list didn’t matter much to me personally, but I wanted to make him happy. So when we evacuated from Congo a year later, sneaking out of our area at night, and I was only allowed to take a small backpack stuffed with a change of clothing and one precious object I wouldn’t want to lose, I chose that notebook! Why? Because I loved Dad and wanted him to know it, to be pleased. When we love Abba God, we obey him like that—not just to escape punishment but to delight him.
God’s unending lovingkindness, his firm concern shown in loving attention, this is a treasure beyond words. So we show it by our commitment to him and our respect for his wishes that we love him in return. We live in a way so attached to him that it impacts everything we do and say. And we rest inside that constant goodness, like a child that crawls onto his parent’s lap, knowing he is welcome there—in fact, invited to be close to them always. That is what it means to belong to our Heavenly Father and live inside his love.
So turn to him now, thank him for his hesed, and rest in the best peace ever!
Linnea's Lines 