Loving-Kindness

Isaiah 54.4-8

⁴ “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
    Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
    and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth.
⁶ The Lord will call you back
    as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
⁷ “For a brief moment I abandoned you,
    but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
⁸ In a surge of anger
    I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
    I will have compassion on you,”
    says the Lord your Redeemer.

As we spoke about the assurance of God’s grace and forgiveness yesterday, I did not spend time with the words from Isaiah 54 which were used in confession and assurance.  Particularly the portion that shows here as everlasting kindness, sometimes translated loving-kindness.  The Hebrew word, khesed, refers to the mercy, grace, forgiveness, love of God that is all-encompassing.  When we see it in reference to forgiveness, we see that it is a forgiveness that comes to us without anything being done our part.  It could be seen as the unconditional love of God.  Referring to the way God’s forgiveness and love is not based on anything beyond himself.

Taking that back to our theme from yesterday, our confession or apology does not obligate God to forgive.  It does not even happen before God forgives.  God has forgiven.  Therefore, we confess.  God has acted, so we respond.  We looked at 1 John 1 yesterday.  But John carries this deeper in the letter.  1 John 4:

¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Our love of God, as well as our love of others, is rooted in our being loved by God.  And John shows us that sentiment entirely a bit later:

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.

God loves and forgives us.  Then we respond in confession.  We respond by working with the Spirit who transforms us into something renewed.  All because of the unconditional love and forgiveness of our God.