Blog Post: To Love God’s Love
“the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right,
to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.“
– Micah 6:8
This verse was recently brought to mind, and I revisited it through new eyes – taking time to truly ponder what God is asking of us here. These simple words reflect back big ideas that echo throughout the whole Bible, specifically when God says to “love mercy.” As I reflected back on this verse, little did I know there was a depth of richness I hadn’t seen before.
God’s Mercy is His Covenantal Love
I recently did a Bible word study on this word “mercy.” The Hebrew word used here is “hased” or “chaced” and has a lot of English words that it translates to: favor, good deed, kindly, (loving-)kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy. This word captures the essence of God’s heart and character. It reflects His nature toward the Israelites and His faithfulness and loyalty to them through unwavering love. It can’t be understood in one word but grasped at through a series of descriptions: deep compassion, lovingkindness, mercy, loyal love, devotion.
What God asks of us to love is His love. What a powerful pairing, loyal covenantal love alongside deep emotional love. When I think of loving God’s love, I think of learning to get to know and experience God’s love. Loving His love is a deep intimacy that is grows out of affection. I love God and I want to learn to love His love.
God’s hased is tender, it’s gentle, it’s a warm embrace of comfort. It’s belonging and being fully known. It’s of enjoyment and feasting, in ever pursuit and constant presence. It’s the cooling shad in the mid-day sun, it’s the warm fire in the chill of night. It’s the constant source of comfort in need, of reassurance in unsure times. It’s the peace in your heart and silence in your mind, the presence of complete safety. It’s goodness ahead and faithfulness behind, the hand you hold in present times.
The Greatest Commandment is to Love
When we begin to grasp the beauty of God’s hased, we start to understand that this is not just something we passively receive, it’s something we’re invited to participate in. To “love mercy” is to cherish the very love that defines God’s heart. It is to hold close the love that holds us. And when we do, it begins to change us. It forms us into people who not only receive love but live it out. This very point is what Jesus means when He sums up the greatest commandments:
Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”
– Matthew 22:37-39
There is a direct connection to loving God fully and loving others. It is a natural overflow that comes from experiencing God’s hased. John echoes this teaching by saying:
“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
– 1 John 4:7
From Encounter to Overflow
Knowing God means encountering His love. Encountering His love means we naturally give out to others. There is no forceful demand here to display acts of love to others through a command or a duty. It is a natural expression of our love outwardly. Being born of God and knowing God is what qualifies us to love one another. That means encountering God’s love first and from that experience, giving it to one another.
When the love of God encounters you, it is an embrace you never walk away from. Just by reading this, I pray that the love of God is touching your heart and you are realizing that His love is not merely a theological idea, but a present reality to be experienced. By encountering His love, our hearts are touched and transformed, where we come to know in full experience God’s love. And by experiencing that love, we are enraptured by it, captivated by it and from there, delight in seeing that love expressed out to the world. Where we love God’s love and love to see others encountered by it.
