But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. Ruth 1:8 ESV
And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. Ruth 3:10 ESV
Sometimes when we think of self-giving, self-denying love, the kind of love that hesed in the Old Testament, or agape in the New Testament connote, it seems a little overwhelming. Even when we remind ourselves that this kind of love is not to have a great emotional affinity for someone, but just to consciously choose the best for that person, the thought is a little overwhelming. Can I really do that?
At this point, it is helpful to remind ourselves of the great range of meaning that hesed covers. Look at the two passages printed above. In the first case: “deal kindly” is a translation of “do hesed.” In the second, “last kindness” is a translation of “your latter hesed.” (Her former hesed was to be kind to a destitute old widow.) What are these translations saying? They are saying that the love of God is nothing less than to treat another person kindly. Ruth was a kind person, and because she was,we have Jesus (Her son from Boaz was Obed the grandfather of David).
What does this mean for you and me? It means that to show the love of God, you don’t have to rescue a child from in front of a speeding train (although that would surely do it!). No, just treat a harassed grocery store clerk kindly. Just interrupt your busy schedule to listen to a troubled person pour out their troubles. Just smile at people! To be sure, Ruth’s kindness had large implications for her life. When she chose to accompany that destitute old woman, she might have been condemning herself to impoverished widowhood for the rest of her life. But the point for us, as I think it was for her, is simply this: do we choose, by the grace of God, to be kind people? “Behold how kind they are to one another.”
Called To Be Transformed 