Dearest DW... may you have peace!
May I answer, as my Lord has granted me to? Thank you.
No, neither my Father's nor my Lord's love is 'unconditional'. The 'conditions' are:
1. You must love your Father JAH, with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength; and
2. You MUST love your neighbor as yourself.
Both of these 'conditions' are born out in:
1. "This is my Son, the beloved... listen... to HIM."
which Son says:
2. "If you love ME... you will observe my word... and my Father... will love YOU."
Thus, we must:
3. "Remain in union with me, because APART from me, you can do nothing of yourselves";
4. "KEEP doing this, in remembrance of me"; and
5. "Just as I have done to YOU... so you must also do to one another."
And what did my Lord do? He fed the hungry, healed the sick, forgave the sins of many, released the captives under the Law Covenant, showed compassion, pity and mercy... and condemned no one... other than those who stood in 'the king's highway', blocking the road to 'freedom', the Way, and access to the Tree of Life and 'rivers of water', from which any who 'wish it' and are 'thirsting' are granted to eat and drink.
Which brings me to your next point... that about sinning WILLFULLY. Can we, in and of ourselves know who it is that sins willfully? Did the disciples know that Judas would betray our Lord? No. The ONLY way we can know if one has sinned willfully... is by holy spirit... and ONLY if that Spirit has revealed such sin to you.
Acts 5:1-6
2 Samuel 12:1-4
Unless this is the case, then, and such a case is VERY rare, for who are ANY of us to 'judge the house servant of another', we have no grounds to determine whether a man is repentant or not, if indeed such ones says he or she is. That is why judicial committees (or, as Paul called them 'a human tribunal') is SO against the Christ, that any who sit on one will bear an even heavier judgment. For who knows the HEART of a man, except the SPIRIT of a man?
Rather than pointing the finger and condemning one another, then, are we not UNDER OBLIGATION to love our neighbor 'as ourself'? And don't we ALL want to be shown mercy and forgiveness? If any individual has sinned WILLFULLY, such one knows it, as the writer stated, therefore condemns his or her SELF. They need no condemnation from any one of us:
"For if we practice sin willfully after having
received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there
is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, 27 but
[there is] a certain fearful expectation of judgment
and [there is] a fiery jealousy that is going to consume
those in opposition."
Thus, my Lord did not need to condemn Judas; he condemned himself. So much so, that his own conscience wouldn't LET him live with his error.
We have enough to do 'in the Lord', dear one, to go RELEASING and FORGIVING and UNBINDING and EXTENDING MERCY... to preoccupy ourselves with who 'has sin'. For if look closely, we will see that we ALL... 'have sin'. Not one of us is 'righteous' in and of ourselves. We all have our 'horror' stories... no matter WHAT we present on the outside.
But it is not what is evident that my Fathers sees, but what is NOT evident. The 'man' we are inside... our heart... our intent... our motive. If our sin is born out a hatred for God, Christ... or ANY of our fellowman... we will have gone against the spirit of our Father that is in us... just as did Saul... and such spirit will be removed. If, however, our sin is born of weakness, error or ignorance... we have a ransom... a WONDERFUL sacrifice... than can 'cover over' our weaknesses... IF... we 'exercise' faith in it... and in the one who provided it.
Like everyone else, I have weaknesses in my flesh that I battle, DW. For example, thinking ill against someone who has spoken unkindly to or about me, or someone I love, and wanting to say something really mean and wicked to them... or about them. Believe me, there are times when I get 'straight ghetto'. But I PROMISE you, I battled before I 'went' there.
Some weaknesses I battle on a daily basis. Some I win; some, I lose. But I always at least put up a fight and so far, have not been 'lost'... simply because of such weakness. Who then, are WE to say that someone who succumbed to a battle did not fight? We can't. For we do not know the heart of such one.
That is why what is best is to follow 'closely' in the footsteps of the one who left us a 'pattern': He judged NO ONE, and condemned ONLY those who 'shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men.' He felt pity and compassion for all those who put faith in him, released many, forgave many, healed many, taught many, fed many, LOVED many... and gave his LIFE for many... both those who were his 'friends'... and those who were not.
And that is all he is expecting us to do. Those, dear DW, are the 'conditions'. For we MUST remember... that we ALL 'stumble'... MANY times. But love... 'covers a MULTITUDE... of trangressions.'
Again, I bid you peace, and I am...
YOUR servant, as I am servant to ALL those of the Household of God, Israel, and a slave of Christ,
SJ
