Continuing with the exploration and reflection through a series of articles written in a conversational language about Catholicism, about God, about Jesus, about the Church and many other faith related topics. Here we present:

Question 24 – Is God a judge who condemns? 

Christians believe that God* will ultimately judge everyone’s life. This is what Christians call the final judgment*. Are Christians therefore afraid of a strict God who judges and thus also condemns?

You need not fear a God who is love. The only criterion that God uses to judge, is that of love. God looks straight into the heart of every human being, without ever making a mistake. He does not look for the bad things there. God only gauges how much and how much that heart, during a person’s life, opened itself up to love. Not even the smallest spark of love escapes God’s attention. It is that experience of love that survives death.

God can only assess what has in fact happened. So it matters what a person has or has not done in life. Christians believe that they are free and therefore responsible for their actions, both good and bad.

– Are you afraid of God?
– When you look at people around you, do you mainly look at the good, or do you rather see the bad?

Feel free to leave your thoughts, reflections or comments below.

Watch this space! Coming up:   Question 25 – Who is the Holy Spirit?     

Follow these links to go back to previous questions

If you wish to learn more about this resource follow this link  “52 Questions and Answers about faith”

About the author:

Nikolaas Sintobin, SJ, joined the Society of Jesus in 1989, following a short career as a lawyer. He was trained as a Jesuit in Brussels, Paris, and Santiago de Chile. Today he is a spiritual director who is keenly interested in online ministry and discovering new ways to help people find God.

This text is republished with the permission of Messenger Publications, Ireland. To buy a hard copy of the book click here.