What Does It Mean That God's Love Is Steadfast?

By Pastor John Erickson

Sometimes you know exactly what you want to say, but you can't find the word for it.

We even borrow words from other languages because our own doesn't quite capture the idea. Take déjà vu. You know that strange feeling that you've been in this exact moment before? We use the French words because they work so well.

There's a Hebrew word in the Bible that creates a similar problem for translators.

It's hesed-sometimes written chesed or khesed.

You may have read it as "steadfast love," "unfailing love," "faithful love," or simply "kindness." Those are all attempts to describe something too rich for one easy English word.

And once you begin to understand it, you start to see why the Bible uses it to describe God.

More Than Just Feeling Loving

In Exodus 34:6, God describes himself as overflowing with steadfast love and faithfulness.

The people hearing this have not exactly earned a reputation for being loyal. They've been rescued, provided for, and invited into covenant. Then they turn around and worship a golden calf.

If you were going to choose a moment for God to announce he was finished with them, this might be it.

Instead, God reveals what he is like: compassionate, gracious, patient, and rich in hesed.

That doesn't make their betrayal meaningless. But it tells us God's love isn't a mood he falls into when people have been especially impressive.

A picture I have found helpful is a Venn diagram: love, loyalty, and generous kindness overlapping. It is a teaching picture, not an exhaustive dictionary definition, but it helps me see why 'steadfast love' means more than a warm feeling.

Take any one of those out, and the picture changes.

What Happens When One Piece Is Missing?

You can have love and generosity without loyalty. Imagine two teenagers who are completely captivated by each other. There are gifts. Beautiful words. Big promises.

Then a week later they stop talking.

There may have been real affection. There may even have been generosity. But without a durable commitment, the relationship can disappear as quickly as it began.

Or you can have loyalty and generosity without deep love.

I think about the exterminator who has come to our house. He does a good job. I appreciate him, I am happy to keep using his service, and I can be generous toward him. But if he stopped doing that work, I would find another exterminator. It is a professional relationship, not the same as the love that binds a family together.

And then you can have love and loyalty without much generosity in action. Somebody says, "I love you. I'll always be here," but never seems willing to actually help when things get hard.

Here is a picture I use to examine myself. Suppose I am sitting on the couch while Gina is cooking dinner. Something spills, she needs help, and I respond with a heartfelt declaration of love while making absolutely no effort to get up. My words may sound loyal. But she could probably use a towel more than a speech.

That is an illustration, not a report of a particular spilled dinner. The point is that love needs to become practical kindness. That's not the whole picture if generosity never gets off the couch.

Hesed brings these qualities together.

The Husband Who Stays

One of the most powerful pictures of this comes from a long marriage.

Imagine a couple who have been married fifty years. They have built a life together. Then one spouse becomes seriously ill and needs constant care.

The other begins preparing meals, arranging appointments, helping with the daily tasks that most of us don't think about until we can't do them ourselves.

And it isn't easy. It's exhausting. Plans change. Personal freedom becomes limited. Sometimes the person doing the caring is tired and discouraged.

But they keep showing up.

Why?

Love is part of it. So is the loyalty of a promise made long ago. And then there is generosity-actual acts of care that cost time and energy.

That's a helpful picture of the kind of love we're trying to describe. Not merely affection. Not merely a contractual obligation. Not merely an occasional gift.

A faithful love that acts.

God's Love Lasts Longer Than Ours

Hosea uses a sobering picture for human faithfulness: like the morning mist that quickly disappears.

I recognize myself in that description. I make commitments. I start the week with good intentions. Then I get distracted, tired, irritated, or interested in something else.

It's tempting to assume God works the same way.

We imagine his kindness lasts only until we're inconvenient, that his loyalty has an expiration date, and that his generosity dries up the moment we disappoint him.

But Exodus gives us another picture.

God's hesed is part of his character. He remains faithful to his promises even when people need to be corrected and brought back. His mercy doesn't depend on our ability to manufacture perfect consistency.

Of course, faithful love isn't the same as ignoring harm. Sometimes love corrects and confronts. God's covenant loyalty includes both truth and mercy.

What Does This Love Produce in Us?

The beautiful part is that we're not only invited to receive this kind of love. We're invited to practice it.

Who are the people to whom you've made commitments? What would it look like to love them not only when you're feeling affectionate, but also when showing up costs something?

Maybe it's caring for a family member. Maybe it's being a faithful friend through a difficult season. Maybe it's serving someone who doesn't have anything to give you in return.

Hesed is not a religious word we learn so we can impress somebody in a Bible study.

It's a window into the heart of God-and an invitation to reflect that heart in the way we treat people.

Love. Loyalty. Generosity.

Not three separate ideas, but a life held together by all three.