I’ll Stand By You

Luke 24:6 (NIVUK)
HE HAS RISEN!

John 15:12:13 (NIVUK )
My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Yesterday - Easter Day! The most cataclysmic day of History when, from the pain and death of Good Friday, Love exploded into Life! 

LOVE! Throughout the Old Testament the Hebrew word HESED is used for God's love. Not translatable in English by one word, it encompasses unconditional love, generosity, and enduring commitment - loyal love. 

This love is fully expressed in Jesus' death and resurrection. Jesus is God's hesed. And he calls and compels his followers to live out that love.

In 2019 my family and I faced the hardest week. My nephew was critically ill in Great Ormand Street Hospital, and it wasn’t looking good. My two closest friends were walking with me 24/7 through WhatsApp. As things worsened, one of them decided to come to London, stay with her sister and be physically present. She set aside her own life to simply be on hand to meet me near the hospital should I need her. I know both these women would literally lay down their lives for me and vice versa. They are part of my family circle. This is Hesed love.  

Hesed is an outward-facing love that focuses on not just feeling love for someone but that feeling is so strong that it turns into action. Over time, I think we have lost some of the depth of love in all its forms. Society places a high value on romantic love and not being whole unless you find it. Easter demonstrates something far greater and far deeper - covenant love. We will explore this more over the week.  

What would it look like if we started living out this Hesed love, this counter-cultural form of love that creates a far deeper connection between people? 

Prayer - Father, thank you for demonstrating Hesed love on the cross and in your resurrection. Please help me to gain a deeper understanding of what this love looks like in my everyday life.