To Imbed in Hesed

Earlier this week, I was hanging out in Psalm 26. I'd like to take a look at the first line of verse 3 today:

For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, (NKJV)

The word translated "lovingkindness," is the Hebrew word hesed. Hesed can be defined as goodness, kindness, or faithfulness, and is often translated as mercy or steadfast love. gotquestions.org says hesed describes a sense of love and loyalty that inspires merciful and compassionate behavior toward another person. Author Lois Tverberg says hesed intervenes on behalf of loved ones and comes to their rescue. Hesed, if I may add my two cents, is fierce Mama Bear love, with Labrador loyalty and Good Samaritan philanthropy, lavished on humanity at the cross in the selfless and bloody sacrifice of One who is perfect love, a promise kept from the time the word was given in the Garden of Eden. Hesed! 

I say all of this to ask, Knowing you are loved in such a way, what does this change about your life? Living your life loved in such a manner enables you to do what, exactly?

I remember when Scott and I first began dating. He was so kind, so encouraging, so thoughtful. It changed the way I thought about myself. I wanted better for myself. I wanted to treat myself better. And, by extension, I wanted the same for those around me. His love changed my point of view! BUT we saw each other daily, we worked together, we talked constantly, we deliberately planned dates and secret, silly rendezvouses in the hall; we surreptitiously made eye contact and called one another when "our song" came on the radio. Moment after moment was spent developing our feelings for one another; our love for one another was forever "before our eyes."

Back to the answers to those questions. Love, especially perfect love is life-altering, transformative. It can produce boldness where only fear lived before, compassion in place of selfishness, gentleness instead of disrespect. BUT lovingkindness must be "before our eyes." The lovingkindness of our Savior --His very character --must be given our attention. Deliberately. 

Why deliberately? Because we are imbedded in a society ruled by the Prince of this world, the Enemy, our Adversary, the Father of Lies, Satan. The culture, the principles and points of view of the world are constantly "before our eyes." Ads, music, expectations, conversations, movies, societal "norms," education. We are bombarded by the world's way of life; we're perpetually indoctrinated. Corporations often send top candidates away to skills development symposiums, pulling them out of the daily work environment to better restructure their thinking and habits in a place designed to facilitate specific results. Why is that? To represent the company, you must think like the company; you must know what it means to truly be part of the company; you must develop some form of love for it and loyalty to it. And we somehow think we can just wing it?! We find ourselves at the foot of the cross, vowing to follow the Lord, and then we step back and wait for the feelings to come. Meanwhile, our thoughts and attitudes --and by extension, our behavior --are being manipulated by the world "before our eyes." How much time out of our day do we take to contemplate the hesed of our Father God, to keep that before our eyes? Without the love of God, we are ineffective. We can't think rightly about ourselves, or want better for ourselves, or treat ourselves better --or anyone else for that matter! As long as our minds are being trained by the world in which we live, we are impotent, foolish, purposeless, and wicked. BUT in keeping the lovingkindness of God before our eyes, in deliberately immersing ourselves in Bible culture and the fellowship and mentorship of other believers, we change our minds and change our lives. Hesed becomes our driving force for obedience and life. We can respectfully disagree when the doctor recommends aborting your child. We can boldly knock on doors and ask for the help when we're told we'll never get it. We can train and plan and rehearse when it appears impossible to qualify. We can share the gospel with others who have rejected it again and again, because the hesed of our Lord and Savior is before our eyes and the ways of the world are nothing more than a faint memory of how things once were.