Dear Foothills Family,

My heart has been overflowing with all the generous, genuine, sometimes creative expressions of love that have come my way during October—“Pastor Appreciation Month!” 

Thanks for your cards, gifts, hugs, words, and prayers. I hope you can tell that I love each one of you very much. The source of this extravagant love that flows between our hearts in the Foothills Family is God. 

All good and perfect things come from God. We see this most clearly in the person and ministry of Jesus.

THE LOVE OF GOD. In the Bible, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words are used to express the reality of God’s love. “Love” is listed over 760 times. and that doesn’t include any of the broader expressions of God’s love like, compassion, mercy, care, kindness, etc….

Probably the most important Old Testament term describing God’s love is khesed which is usually translated “loving kindness” (NASB) and sometimes “everlasting love” (ESV), or “faithful love” (HCSB).

Khesed—kindness and faithful love—reflects a broad spectrum of meanings:

- deeds of devotion

- faithfulness

- favor

- goodness

- kindness

- loyalty

- mercy

- consistency (unchangeableness).

No matter how we may feel regarding human love, I recommend that we re-think and re-frame our view of God’s love for us. Spouses, parents, siblings, children and close friends may fall short of providing the type of love for which our hearts yearn. 

Rather than becoming withdrawn or jaded, we should remember that we, too, fail in our love toward others.

But beyond the broken hearts and damaged relationships, the Perfect God loves us perfectly! The old hymn was right in pointing to Jesus as the “Lover of our soul.”

I remember a beautiful African expression that reflects, from natural aspects, the vast expanse of God’s love.  The little chorus celebrates that God’s Love is:

Higher than Mount Kilimanjaro

Deeper than the Zambezi River

Wider than the Serengeti Plain

Let me tell you about God’s Love!

Maybe we can sing it together one of these days!! You’ll love it! And in the meantime, thanks for allowing God’s healing, life-giving love to flow through you as you live and share the everlasting Gospel of the Kingdom!

With much love,

Pastor Duff