All is well.

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;" Ps 103:11

This came to me for some reason as I was praying for our uni student welcome this friday. It's an amazing promise, though I think the reason I remembered it was cos it was a rather catchy song we used to sing back in youth group in Sitiawan.

As I look at the words, the words 'high', and 'fear' jump out.

'High' in that sentence is a pretty big word. Just as there are no ways to measure the distance btw heaven and earth (and its interesting that heaven can be considered a state rather than a specific destination, while the earth is a specific destination, implying that the distance btw them involves crossing different dimensions), similarly God's love for us is immeasurable. In a time when people try to define things by quantifiable means, this is mind-blowing. No limits, no boundaries, nothing we can do can set us out of reach of his love. (Notice, though, that while we are always within reach of his love, allowing it into our lives is another story, and something that we can choose NOT to do.)

'Fear'. What a weird way to end a perfectly nice sentence. Is God saying that those who love him the most, also fear him? That there can not be perfect love without fear? I believe he is. A brief exposition, if I may: 'Fear' in God's context denotes more than an emotion. I attended a study where fear in this context was explained as follows: 'The fear of the Lord demands our respect, awe, desire to please, and dread of judgement.' God loves such people. And though we may not embody all those 4 principles of fear at all times in our lives, God understands, for the verse continues:

"as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Ps 103:12

It gets even better when we remember that the writer of the Psalms was David, also known as the adulterous king. He knew, more than anyone, the love of a God who redeemed and forgave.