Our English word for love has become a matter of perception. We have used the word so carelessly it has lost its significance. We love our parents, our children, our siblings, our friends, our pets, our homes, our cars, our restaurants, our burgers, our steaks, our church, our pastor, and of course, God.

For the last twelve years, I have been on a pilgrimage to the heart of God. As my journey took me closer and closer to the heart of God, I began to realize how cheap and insignificant the English word, love, was in that emotion I began to feel and receive from God. The word love is not enough for me. Therein lies my problem in expressing the emotion I experience as I draw closer to God’s heart.

I need an English word to describe this love, but I have none. Obviously, the English word love is no longer a good word to use. It has been so diversified that we now need to add an adjective just to understand the level of love and the category we put that love in.

I needed a word so pure and so precise that when I heard it, that I knew it spoke of that love I was feeling from God. I believe I have found the word, but it is not an English word. It cannot be translated into English, for no English word exists to really express its depth.

As I grow in my relationship with God, love is no longer a word I would use in expressing my passion for God. I now use the word racham. This book will explain my understanding of racham; the love that is beyond love.