Our actions stem from our beliefs

How do you view God?

GALACTIC POLICEMAN: He's always trying to catch us doing something wrong so that He can punish us. Shame and guilt are God's tools to keep us in line.

COSMIC JOYKILLER: God prefers the stoic, the serious souls. Fun is only for children. We must be mature followers of Christ now.

THE FORCE: Impersonal, faceless, formless energy - He both guides the universe and IS the universe. Some people can tap into this energy and some 'less spiritual' people can't.

VENDING MACHINE: When you need Him, you'll do the right things, pray 'good' prayers and hope He'll deliver what you're asking for. It's like He's relegated to a fixed location and we go back to Him when we've screwed up.

God doesn't describe himself like any of the common views of him that I described above. There are bits of truth in each of the descriptions, overall they give a POOR image of what God is really like.

What if God, the maker of the universe, actually came to earth and offered a description of Himself? There's a Rich Hebrew word that God himself used to describe himself (Exodus 34:6-7). Hesed (sometimes spelled chesed).

In the scripture I just refered to, Moses had been put in a cleft and God passes before him. The scripture says that God proclaimed - Yaweh, Yaweh God hesed... and abundant in hesed...keeping hesed.

Hesed is a rich word, full of meaning and depth. The word can rightly be translated many ways depending on context. Similar to the word ALOHA - can mean hello or goodbye, or an aknowledgement - or love or affection. You determine the meaning of ALOHA by the context.

Hesed is translated mostly as LOVE, MERCY, GOODNESS, WONDERFUL LOVE, and KINDNESS.

This word is important for Christians to understand, not so that we brush up on our Hebrew, but because it embodies so much of what God is... how God wants to be known... His character.

So much of what we do comes back to what we truly believe about God. Do we really believe following Jesus is the best way to live? How can we answer YES! and then spend our money on stupid things and let the poor go hungry? If we really believe that God is deeply GOOD toward us, then why do we spend so much time worrying and being anxious? If we believe that God is merciful toward us, then why do we wallow in guilt and shame? Why do we do so many things in our own strength when God wants to move on our behalf? Do we believe that Jesus is the only way, yet we go our own way all the time? - maybe we don't REALLY believe?

God is Hesed. God is love, merciful, good, kind. The rabbi's point out the part of the point to Hesed is that it's a 'covenant love' - it's a merciful love that's based in a love RELATIONSHIP with us. Not too unsimilar to a marriage. Hesed is a beautiful blend of loyalty and love. In a real sense, God has chosen to obligate Himself to show Hesed to us.

Hesed is almost ALWAYS used to describe God's actions toward mankind or individuals. Even in the case or two that Hesed is used to describe human to human mercy, the point remains that any mercy that I can extend to a human FIRST COMES FROM GOD! This reminds me of when Jesus said "you love because I first loved you".

I'm convinced that most of our actions are rooted in what we truly, deeply believe. I am trying hard to connect with a God who is full of Love, Mercy, Goodness, and Kindness toward me. I find the more I connect with Him, get close to Him - the easier it is to believe the deep love towards me in Him... to REALLY believe that about Him. The more time I spend with Him, the more I see His character. The more I see His Hesed toward me, the more I can rest, be joyful, productive, and fulfilled.

At times in my life, I've lived my Christianity through other people's relationship with God. I was an observer. I listened to sermons and read books yet was disconnected from God. In those times I found it increasingly difficult to follow Jesus as if I TRULY believed His ways were the best. I think there's a point in everyones life when what we've been convinced of in our head, moves to our hearts. This is central to the Christian experience.

Friends, be reminded today that God IS love. Let's work on what we truly believe in such a way that our actions represent God to the world.