Most Bible students are quite familiar with the Greek terms in the New Testament for love. The most prominent of them is “agape,” which denotes unconditional self-giving. It’s this kind of love that God displays to us, deposits in us, and demands of us. It’s the ultimate unselfishness, the deepest regard for another, even when the lover receives no reciprocation of his love in return. It’s the riskiest of loves, the one that “lays down its life for its friends.”
There’s another term for love used a bunch in the Old Testament – “Hesed.” (The “h” has that guttural sound that you make when you’re getting ready to spit. You should practice saying it only when alone and with a tissue in hand.) Pronunciation aside, “hesed” is God’s stubborn, relentless, unrestrained, and insistent love. Hesed is when you refuse to give up loving, even when you have every reason to. That’s the way God loves. When he’s rejected, when his proposal is refused, when his overtures are all rebuffed; he keeps on “hesed-ing” and “agape-ing!”
He’s a stubborn lover!
barney wiget 