Gemilut Hasadim (The Practice of Loving Others) Pt2

Gemilut Hasadim is what enables us to act on our faith directly, emulate the person of God, and get us to focus outside of ourselves and look to the needs of others. It is also done in a way that protects the dignity of the receiver and helps to focus him/her as much as possible on the mercy and person of God. We act as God’s agents (1 Chron 29:14, Matt 6:1-4) and do not consume recognition, praise, or glory for ourselves, but use our actions to direct people to God (Matt 5:13-16). Like Yeshua, we claim nothing as our own and come in our father’s name.

Paul wrote in 1 Cor 13:1-6 that love (charity) i.e., acts of loving kindness, exercising spiritual gifts, miraculous faith, spiritual insight, and even martyrdom are empty or at best shallow acts if they are not done with the right spirit. God wants us to do the right things, but he also wants us to do them for the right reasons. There is a benefit of doing good for the sake of doing good, even if the motive is not completely right because someone does benefit from a person's actions in some way. The Sages hold that the practice of doing good is beneficial basically because good is still being done and the doing of good by anyone may eventually become the avenue for the doer to connect with God. Eternally, however, if we are to make progress with God and promote the kingdom, God wants our hearts to reflect him.

Specifically, Paul spoke of long suffering, kindness, not being envious, not being vaunted up or puffed up, not behaving unseemly (does not dishonor others) or seeking his own (self-seeking); is not easily provoked or thinks no evil (keeps no record of wrongs), and he ends with the quality that love does not rejoice in evil, but rejoices in truth. It is characterized as protecting, trusting, hoping, and persevering behaviors. These are the spiritual fruits (Gal 5:22-23) that God wants us to produce. The reason spiritual fruit is so vital is that the imitation of God in the world projects his kingdom, his person, and his power every time we choose to love another. This was the problem with the some of the Jewish leaders. They did not produce godly fruit. Even their holiness was only a display and was tainted with selfishness and self-centeredness. Yeshua responded in Mat 7:19 that every tree that did not bear good fruit would be cut down and cast into the fire. This is one scripture that bears the weight God gives to loving kindness in both corporate and individual levels.

In Micah 6:8 the prophet emphasized justice, to love mercy, and walk humbly before God as a summation of God's requirements and expectations. In Matt 23:23 Yeshua spoke of this same thing as being the weightier matter of the law i.e. justice, mercy, and faithfulness (integrity, honesty). Yeshua went even further in Matt 25:31-46 in speaking about the divine judgment (the heavenly Bet Din) and characterized the unrighteous as being absent of these qualities and directly stated that ministering to others in compassion is as though one did it directly to him. Notice the people receiving this compassion did not have to be perfect or even righteous. There was no theological discussion enacted to litmus test what they believed or validate that they were somehow worthy or deserving.

Our gemilut hasadim is more than a holiness issue. It is a corporate culture and responsibility of every sacred community. Godly fellowship, our kehillah is lifegiving to those who are hurting. It is a safety net for the broken. If we do not display the love of God in our sanctuaries and communities, all the truth we possess will be powerless and revival will not come. But when the love of God abides with us and we walk out that love in how we reach and care for others, God is glorified and grace abounds. Our practice of loving kindness is the purest expression of our salvation and redemption that we can give to another (1 John 4:8-14).

Rav Calev Lehrer

Apostolic Messianic International- Gulf Coast

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