1John 4:19 reminds us “We love because he first loved us.” All that we are, all that we do in our faith must stem from God’s love for us. We are as people of God, called beloved. This is to be our understanding of the world, to be our call to go out. Judgment, justice, service are useless without God’s love underlying all that we are. And that matters.
To speak of such love can be offensive to some. It can feel disingenuous. That is because the word love has been weakened by our understanding. We seek worlds that we perceive to be stronger, avoiding coming across as weak and fluffy. But that’s not what Hesed is. Hesed is strength, and power because it’s the type of love that walks alongside and welcomes in the unloved. It’s the type of love that shows up for people, even the ones you’d rather leave behind. It’s the type of love that gathers in all of God’s people and speaks truth to lies.
The type of love that calls people out. It’s a real and meaningful love that strives for belonging. It’s the type of love that gives everything, even to the point of death. What God gives us in hesed is covenetal, relational, and real. It anchors us in the midst of trial and storm and shows up in all circumstances. It stands up and stands out at all times, unbending in the waves of tragedy, unchanging in the face of the storm. Love that holds on and seeks to redeem our world. People of faith who cling to love are tenacious in love for others because they know that God loves them with an even deeper passion.