I haven't done one of these for awhile. I hope you find this playdough version as offensive as I do. It does sound wrong when put together this way. Yes God is described as both loving and as the judge. We are commanded to do one and commanded not to do the other. Unfortunately we sometimes get confused about which one we are supposed to do.
1 John 4 (
Playdough Version)
7 Dear friends, let us
love judge one another, because
love judging is from God, and everyone who
loves judges has been fathered by God and knows God. 8 The person who does not
love judge does not know God, because God is
love judgemental. 9 By this the
love judgements of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him. 10 This is
love judging: not that we have
loved judged God, but that he
loved judged us and sent his Son to be the mercy seat offering for our sins.
11 Dear friends, if God so
loved judged us, then we also ought to
love judge one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we
love judge one another, God resides in us, and his
love judging is perfected in us.
...
16 And we have come to know and to believe the
love judgemental nature that God has in us. God is
love judgmental, and the one who resides in
love judging others resides in God, and God resides in him. 17 By this
love judging is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is
no fear in
love judging,
but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears punishment has
not been perfected in
love judging. 19 We
love judge because he
loved judged us first.
20 If anyone says “I love God” and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And the commandment we have from him is this: that the one who loves God should
love judge his fellow Christian too.
2 comments:
We so often get it all backwards where God is concerned.
I think that's because we are so intent on being our own little gods.
Thanks for the comment. Yes, that may too often be true.
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