The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfils the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. (Psalm 145: 17-20)

We are promised a personal relationship (nearness or qawrob) with God if we consistently invite God into our lives. The psalmist tells us that our pleasures and desires (far beyond our basic needs) will be fulfilled if we are appropriately astonished and honor this relationship. If we passionately seek after God we are told God will always be with us.

But the wicked - the Hebrew is rasha - will be destroyed. The one who is separated from God - sometimes hostile to God - will be utterly annihilated. The English translation inserts the pronoun "he" as the source of destruction. The Hebrew strikes me as more ambiguous.

Just as we must invite God into our lives to enjoy the benefits of that relationship, we may also choose to stand apart from God. We may even choose to be hostile to God. The outcome of such a choice is to be outside the life of God and, therefore, outside that which exists in the past, now, and in the future.

Today many churches recall the life of John, "the one whom Jesus loved." More information on Saint John is available at newadvent.org.