More than Just a Word

Reflection

A self-proclaimed logophile (lover of words), my keen interest in words keeps me thinking about them as I read and listen to people. My books are highlighted with words I don’t know or that are used in surprising ways, and I seek to add to my vocabulary. Certain words sound fascinating just because of how they are pronounced. Supercilious, for example, is far superior and much more intriguing than saying ‘one behaves in a superior manner.’ It is even fun to say! Voice the word ‘moist’ and watch people cringe. Words have power!

I also love the precision of language. I read recently about corrosive sin. Yes, sin is bad and separates us from God, but the word ‘corrosive’ creates a picture that has been stuck in my head. Because of the author’s choice of words to convey meaning,  I conjure up an image of a battery coated in a white crusty mess when I read the word sin.

Application

A month ago, I heard a devotional about kindness, a fruit of the Spirit. The speaker talked about how it isn’t just about being nice and pointed us to scripture that helped us reframe this word. After her encouragement to name examples of the kindness of God, I have tuned my ears, eyes, and thoughts to the kindness of the Lord in a novel way. Shortly after this deep dive into the kindness of God, I heard someone talk about the lovingkindness of God. This compound word struck me. Just as birthday is the day of your birth. Lovingkindness = loving + kindness. Let’s look at the two parts of this compound word before we consider it together. 

Loving

 1 John 4:16 tells us,

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

God is loving and he remains in us. His love endures. A look at Psalm 136 shows a repeating pattern throughout: “His love endures forever.” God is loving.

Kindness

Ephesians 2:6 -7 states,

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” 

His great love for us, His abounding grace beyond what we can imagine is Jesus, God’s expression of kindness.  

As I have studied different versions of passages that talk about the love or kindness of God, some will use the words interchangeably. So putting these two words together, seems almost odd. Are we talking about God’s love or His kindness?  The Hebrew word checed (literally means covenant loyalty) is translated as lovingkindness in the King James Version and the New American Standard Bible. Other versions communicate this idea of checed to steadfast love, faithfulness, unfailing love, or good favor. While all of these are powerful and point us to the merciful and gracious love of our God, there is something exceptional about placing these two words together. For me, they serve a multiplicative purpose of emphasis. 

Consider these verses and the impact of the word lovingkindness.

“Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.” Psalm 63:3 (KJV)

“How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God? Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” Psalm 36:7 (KJV)

As a lover of words, this beautiful noun expresses an abundance of God’s mercy, steadfastness, faithfulness, and goodness all wrapped up in a compound word. Lovingkindness is more than just a word. It serves as an anchor of hope, a promise of everlasting love, and a reminder that my corrosive sin was nailed to a cross because of His lovingkindness.

Maryellen Berry