In my most recent blog, I discussed God’s
steadfast love. The Hebrew word for it
is hesed
meaning loving kindness and covenant loyalty. God is absolutely faithful in his love for
us. You can count on the sustainability
of his love. The other Hebrew word for
love that we find in the Old Testament is aheb which is more commonly used meaning practical love reflecting personal
commitment and responsibility. It is the
practical love we observe when one cares for the other. One of many examples in the Bible is the love
between Ruth and Naomi when Ruth says –
Where you lodge, I will lodge.
Your people
shall be my people
and your God my God.
Where you die, I
will die –
There will I be buried.
Ruth 1: 16 &
17
Aheb is the word used by God speaking to Moses when he describes his love
for Israel, a love so great that he desires them to be holy after his likeness. God’s love is an expression of God’s
character and his desire that they love him and others as he loves them in the
most practical, relational way as individuals and as a people.[1]
Isn’t God’s aheb love what we desire for ourselves and for our children,
friends, and neighbors. When we see all
the sin and suffering in the world, we desire the aheb of God to wash over humanity in the most practical, relational
ways and bring joy and peace to this troubled world. It is a loving, personal commitment of
thanks, praise and obedience to God in all we say and do, and commitment to the
wellbeing of all others, the whosever that God loves and for whom Christ died.
Hesed and aheb love, steadfastness with personal commitment, is the essence of the love of God for us and for all
the world. Thanks be to God! The third and final love of God that I’ll
talk about in my next blog is one you are likely most familiar with, agape love.
[1] Dr. Alan Coppedge, “Holiness
and Love,” in High Calling newsletter
of the Francis Asbury Society, March-April, 2015, www.francisasburysociety.com
