This God is good, but God is neither tame nor safe. We must constantly be checking our behavior in relationship to the commandments of the God of Love. As Hosea bears witness to the Israelites vis-a-vis the Baals; as Jesus bears witness to the same community as it related to the Roman Empire; it is up to us to pledge allegiance–above any other–to the same God who, through the lens of the crucified and Risen Christ, looks at us as honored and beloved, and yet who also holds us accountable to respond into the world with kindness, justice, and humility.

