Hesed—Love in Action
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash.
What does true love look like?
It has been said that the Hebrew word “hesed is love in action.” Love looks like action—hesed.
There are many biblical words, such as love, mercy, compassion, grace, and faithfulness, which relate to the Hebrew word hesed (חֶסֶד), but each of these fall short of hesed. God’s covenant love—hesed, is greater than mere feeling or sentiment, and it involves action on behalf of someone in need. “Hesed describes a sense of love and loyalty that inspires merciful and compassionate behavior toward another person” (From GotQuestions.org).
Bible scholar Darrell L. Bock says, hesed is “wrapping up in itself all the positive attributes of God: love, covenant faithfulness, mercy, grace, kindness, loyalty–in short, acts of devotion and loving-kindness that go beyond the requirements of duty.”
What does the covenantal love of God look like? It looks like hesed. It looks like love in action.
Jesus spoke of this tender love of God when he taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” (Matthew 10:29, ESV).
And in Luke’s Gospel account, Jesus said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:4-7, ESV).
God loves his creation and everything and everyone in it with hesed—love in action. God has his eye on the simplest and the smallest of his creatures, and he has his eye on us. We do not need to be afraid when we, or a loved one, falls to the ground. We are not forgotten by God. We are of much more value to God than the sparrows. God sees us as he sees the sparrows. God shows his hesed towards us. God looks over us, God provides for us, and God prepares a place for us.
The Prophet Daniel spoke of his vision of God’s Kingdom and God’s Hesed, saying, “The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.” (Daniel 4:10-12, ESV).
When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God, he expressed similarly this vision of God from Daniel in The Parable of the Mustard Seed, a parable of God’s Kingdom and care. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32, ESV).
May we anticipate God’s hesed—God’s love in action, as God ushers in his Kingdom where all will “come and make nests in its branches.”
A Prayer for the Coming of God’s Kingdom: “Hasten, O Father, the coming of your kingdom; and grant that we your servants, who now live by faith, may with joy behold your Son at his coming in glorious majesty; even Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.” (#115., Book of Common Prayer, 2019).
Begin each month with a #dailydevotional. I have created a #devotional book for each month, a devotional for every day of the year, and offering them for #free by subscribing. Get a link to #Cultivate365: #January2023—A #Daily Devotional here: www.robbiepruitt.com.
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash.
