Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine. Psalms 33:18-19
Last time I wrote about the phrase 'those who fear Him' and what fearing God is about. This time it's the companion phrase 'those who hope in His steadfast love'. For most folk today, fear and love are poles apart. We cannot have a relationship of love and of fear with the same person - or so we are told. And yet, here we have the same group of people described in just these terms as they relate to God. It is these who God keeps His eye on. So, first of all, we are going to have to ignore what is the popular consensus and go with the Bible instead.
It's when we do go with the Bible that we get a better picture who God actually is. His love is simply overwhelming. He has proven that in so many ways - with the Cross being the climax. We are encourage to draw near to this God of love, to depend on His love, that is, to hope in His love. There is something wrong with a Christian who does not relish the love of his God for him. In fact, understanding that it is the dangerous God who loves him in this way, heightens the amazement of the Christian at God's love for a sinner like himself. So, instead of thinking that knowing God as dangerous means that there can be no relationship of love, seeing His love in the context of His being dangerous makes that love sparkle.