I suspect they would have gotten along very well.
Twice during today's sermon (which I am going to soak in one more time because it is just what I needed--and need--to hear) Pastor Hamilton read verses that contained the translation "steadfast love" and I heard Dr. Lawhead in my head talking about the Hebrew word "chesed" (or "hesed" as it is sometimes rendered) and how hard it is to translate into English. "Steadfast love" is one of the most common translations you will see of this complex word, used in the Old Testament to describe the love of God that never quits. Here's a page on "chesed" I found using Google--I think I recognize the author's name from Jeremiah class.
It's not just mercy or grace or kindness or love or wishing well or devotion--it is all of these wrapped up in one, done in relationship to one partner that really, at bottom, does not deserve the care contained in the word. Like the Hebrew people, who ignored the calls of the prophets to repent and return to the LORD God.
Like us today, who do not obey the calls of God to come to repentance for our sins.
It's still there, God's "chesed"--it has never left.
Looking for information on Dr. Lawhead.
ReplyDeleteIn the "Theological Point of View" sidebar associated with this blog, "Wesleyan/Armenian" should be corrected to "Wesleyan/Arminian". Wikipedia tells us that Jacobus Arminius is the Latinized name of the Dutch theologian on whose theology much of your (and my) theology is based.
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