Wednesday of Holy Week
Tomorrow the journey to the cross takes a crucial turn. Events are set in motion on Thursday of Holy Week that lead quickly to Christ’s arrest, torture, and execution. Each of the coming days has a specific event or theme that will guide us in our devotional journey, and if we’re honest they will take us to places that are sad and difficult. We know where the story lands come Sunday morning, but the journey to that day is not an easy one.
From the very beginning of this Lenten journey it has been our prayer that you have been keenly aware of the passionate, pursuing love of God that sits at the heart of what this week is all about. It is love that brought Jesus to earth, and it is love that now brings him to the cross.
How can we begin to even imagine so great a love? What words can we use to describe it? Our vocabulary isn’t extensive enough to capture it in its completeness. Paul himself acknowledged this, saying that the love of Jesus “surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19).
In the original Hebrew of the Old Testament there is a word for “love” that is difficult to capture fully in our English translations. The word is hesed, and it is translated many different ways in the Hebrew Scriptures, some of which include:
Steadfast love
Unfailing love
Lovingkindness
Great mercy
Goodness
Musician and author Michael Card says this of the word hesed:
“Let’s let go of the illusion that hesed can be reduced to one English ‘literal’ word and instead see it as a key that can open a door into an entire world—the world of God’s own heart, the world of loving”
-Michael Card, Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God's Lovingkindness
Perhaps it’s a good thing that there is a Biblical word for “love” that defies translation, because the divine love reflected in the Scripture defies explanation. We need to be reminded that God’s love can’t be pared down to a sound bite or a slogan. Remembering the depth of God’s love is a discipline that requires us to go deep—to a place beyond words, into the very heart of God himself.
As we prepare for what the next few days hold, let’s spend some time meditating on the amazing, inexpressible love of God.
Scripture for Meditation:
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
—Ephesians 3:14-19 (NRSV)
Song: Steadfast Love (Psalm 63) (lyrics here)
Questions for Reflection
What words that have been used to describe the love of God speak to your heart? What is it about those words that you find so meaningful?
Steadfast…faithful…merciful…kindness…goodness…five words we glean from “hesed” to describe God’s love. Spend some time praying with those words and ask God to show you in a new way how they reflect his heart for you.
What does it mean for you to be “rooted” and “grounded’ in love? Spend some time in prayer asking God to build that foundation of his love into your life in new and deeper ways.
Bonus Songs
Here are some additional songs that speak about the love of God. Just as one word can’t fully describe it, neither can one song fully capture it. Use these songs to help guide you into a deeper understanding and experience of his love. Each video has lyrics on screen.