1 John 4:17-18 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
The Day of Judgment... What kind of response does that bring to your heart or mind? A joke? Something you would rather not think about? The witty remarks you will make to God? How about calm confidence - not a cocky boldness that doesn't take things seriously, but a deep peace, with no fear, hidden or apparent. How can we possibly do that as "sinners in the hands of an angry God"? By knowing the love and forgiveness of Christ, assured that He has taken our punishment on Himself. This is no mere taking sin lightly; it is taking it most seriously - someone else paid the price for my sin. The terror of judgment is taken away - not because I am "so good", but because He loves me that much, and I have accepted His love, not rejected it. The fear of God is very much there, but it is transformed through faith, seen with the eyes of God's love. What does judgment mean to you?
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