At last month’s equipping service, we looked at how we have been taught to become like Jesus. We learned that the left brain, the slow side, helps us to believe the truth, make good choices and ask God’s Holy Spirit to help us. We learnt that the right side of our brain, which is fast, helps to form our character, our identity.
Left Brain:
logical thinking, problem solving,
Strategies, language…
SLOW
Right Brain:
Works faster than our thoughts
Immediate reaction under stress
Character revealing
Identity formed here
Relationships formed here
FAST
Education focuses on getting information into our left brain, but what we learn doesn’t always show up in our reactions to events, people and situations. How can we get what we learn from left brain to right brain?
Brain science shows that there are various ingredients we need to help us do this. To recap from last time, we need:
JOY: The sparkle in someone’s eye that shows they are happy to be with us. We also learned that God’s face shines upon us because He is happy to be with us.
HESED: The more loving attachment (Hesed) we have to God and to each other the more we are changed to be like Jesus. The Hebrew word Hesed refers to the unconditional love that is in all our deepest loving attachments; it is the relational glue that holds us together and binds us to God.
So how can we build Hesed Communities together? When we walk into a strongly attached loving community you can feel it. You can see how they really love being together. Has this always been our experience in the past? What can we do to be closer as a loving community? Would you like to be part of a community like this, where Jesus is seen, not only through our actions, but through our reactions?
In Colossians 2:2 we read that Paul prays for his readers that their hearts may be “knit together in love.” Colossians 2:2 ESV – that their hearts may be encouraged, – Bible Gateway
A Hesed community is based on the idea that we flourish best in an environment where, instead of fiercely guarding our weaknesses, we build relationships where we share and support each other, and spend time together. For example, sharing meals together.
To function effectively as a group, our motives must be based on mutual love and respect. If we want to understand how we as the people of God act, then we need look no further than Jesus’s teaching in the sermon on the mount. As we see these values acted upon around us, we assimilate them without realising it; our Right brains are in action, transforming our character!
. Matthew 5-7 ESV – The Sermon on the Mount – Seeing the – Bible Gateway
So, what kind of people are we seeking to be, and how do we act? Can we look at the following passages and think about who we are and how we should act?
Colossians 3:12 ESV – Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, – Bible Gateway
Ephesians 5 ESV – Walk in Love – Therefore be imitators – Bible Gateway
Another ingredient for Hesed is listen to healthy positive correction and learn from it. We all say and do things that we know to be wrong. When this happens, we need to know what is wrong, otherwise we can’t learn. This can only be successful in the context of a close and caring relationship. If all we receive is criticism without restoration, we experience toxic shame. I’m sure this has happened to all of us.
Proverbs 15:31 ESV – The ear that listens to life-giving – Bible Gateway
Ultimately the outcome of building Joy, Hesed and the right group identity leads us to become a community of people who are happy to be together, are faithful friends, who value relationships above problems and create an inclusive, loving and joyful environment.
