One of the things that I have really thought about and in the process of grappling with is the following Hebrew word (hesed) חֶסֶד. It is roughly translated as steadfast love, loyalty, kindness, love, and goodness. Yet these translations pale in comparison to describe the extent and the fullness hidden and expressed by this word. For this, Michael Knowles' unpublished book Tell Me Your Name is a great resource. Reading and meditating on what this means for me, it brought me to a place of deep awe and love for the God Who has this type of love for me. This is the love that pursues, the love that fights for me, the love that follows me all the days of my life. What a beautiful word! This is something I wrote on hesed:
One of the things that stood out to me as I read and reflected on this chapter is the notion of God’s love as the love that pursues us till no end. His love knows no bounds. The example of Psalms 23 stands out to me. Because of the popularity and familiarity of this psalm to me, I have viewed this passage in a very monolithic way. God will be there to comfort me when things are bad. While that interpretation is still true, I think it misses out on some key salient points within the passage that can only be understood within the hesed paradigm.
In v. 1 and 3, we read “He leads me in right paths on account of, for the sake of his name”. Professor Knowles in his book points out that “in other words, God’s primary concern is for his own reputation, a point that is easy to overlook given the psalm’s recurrent images consolation, rescue, and generous provision, all of which cause readers to consider their own situations of need. God’s purpose in showing mercy, in caring for his people like a shepherd for sheep, is to demonstrate his own true nature, and to keep them from misunderstanding what kind of God has taken charge of them. God’s concern for his own name is a frequent Old Testament motif recalling for Christian readers the initial petition of the Lord’s prayer, “May your name be sanctified.”
Another thing that I've been thinking about lately is the beautiful, blessed Trinity. James Torrance Worship, Community, and the Triune God of Grace is an amazing book that talks about regaining the centrality of the Trinity in our understanding of worship. The following is taken from a book review I wrote on this book:
Christian worship, as it is defined and proclaimed in this book, is not only viable but is a much-needed application point in the life of many Christians. Too often, worship and community are seen within a very individualistic paradigm. An experiential event model of salvation that emphasizes the personal nature of salvation can cause a false doctrine of entitlement and works-based theology among its followers. In many of the Evangelical Protestant churches that I have attended, worship is often viewed as something that an individual does to please God or as an act that must be performed because it is commanded by God. It puts the onus on the individual to create the worship towards God. Yet, if Torrance is correct in stating that worship is based on our awareness of who God is and what He has done, then the primary character in the drama of worship is God. We, in response to what God has done, reciprocate by giving worship. There is nothing that I can personally do to create or manufacture worship. Likewise, my worship to God is not caused by my own will. Once we can move out of the individualistic paradigm of worship, we can finally see worship as an act that happens in true community with God. As much as God is the object of our worship, He is also the subject of our worship.The perichoretic unity found in the Trinity provides us with a model of what true worship and community should look like: united, humble and loving.
I'm really thankful that I have this time and opportunity to study the Word of God and think about theological things. I know that when I leave seminary the time I would have to devote on such things would be infinitely lesser than the time I spend on them now. I really want to take advantage of this time that God has given me. I pray that instead of focussing on just getting better marks, I would focus instead on the important things like encountering and being encountered by God!
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