I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
(Jeremiah 31:3 ESV)
We use the word “love” in a lot of different ways. We love a good meal. We love a favorite song. We love our family and friends. But not all love is the same. Some love fades when feelings change. Some love depends on being loved in return.
The Hebrew word ahavah (אָהַב), pronounced ah-hah-VAH, paints a richer picture of the love we find in Scripture. Ahavah isn’t just a passing feeling. It is a love that moves toward someone, stays with them, and acts for their good, even when it’s costly.
When God says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love,” he is describing exactly this kind of love, a love that is rooted in his own character. God doesn’t love us because we are always lovable. He loves us because he is love, and ahavah flows from who he is.
It helps to see how ahavah relates to the Hebrew word chesed, God’s loyal, covenant faithfulness. If ahavah is the love that draws the heart toward someone, chesed is the love that stays when things get hard. Ahavah says, “I love you.” Chesed says, “I will never leave you.”
In God, these two are inseparable. His love is both deeply felt and fiercely faithful. He doesn’t just choose us once and walk away. He stays with us through failure, wandering, and weakness.
Throughout Scripture, we see this love in action. God doesn’t love from a distance. He draws near. He rescues. He provides. He forgives. Again and again, even when His people drift away, His ahavah keeps moving toward them and His chesed keeps holding on.
This speaks directly into our own lives. There are moments when we feel distant from God or weighed down by regret. It can seem like we’ve failed too often and it’s easy to imagine that God’s love has faded.
But ahavah reminds us that God is still moving toward us, and chesed reminds us that he isn’t going anywhere. His love remains steady, patient, and near, always inviting us to return and rest in Him.
This kind of love also reshapes us. When we understand how we are loved by God, we begin to love others differently, moving beyond convenience and into commitment. We learn to stay present in relationships, to extend grace, and to act for the good of others even when it costs us.
Today, take a moment to notice where God’s love has been at work in your life. His ahavah has been reaching for you, and His chesed has been holding you fast. You are not forgotten. You are deeply loved with a love that both moves toward you and refuses to let you go.
That is the blessing of both ahavah and chesed.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for loving me with a love that reaches for me and never leaves. When I doubt or struggle, remind me that your love is both strong and faithful. Teach me to love others with the same kind of commitment and grace you have shown to me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Alan Smith
Reprinted with permission from Alan Smith’s Thought For the Day