I've put intentionally these two passages from Mt 5 and 1 Cor 13 to my introductory part side by side. Please read them, and you'll see, that there is nothing written about assessment. Saying this, I don't want to hint, that assessment does not belong to love. Rather I want to say, that if ASSESSMENT were one of the most important features, Jesus and Paul would have mentioned it just in these passages.
Community wants to diminish God's love in praxis to the assessment of one's state in front of God and to act respectively: to admonish or 'encourage' somebody. Those, who have not 'certain common ground' with community, receive therefore almost always admonishments.
Yes, I think, assessments are one of important things, that belong to the love.
But THIS is not the feature, that makes the love of God unique and visible for unbelievers. We see that kind of 'assessing love' also among politicians, who always try to find, what is wrong and what must be changed. We see that kind of 'assessing love' also among Jehovah's Witnesses, who act in the same way as our community. So we don't need to be afraid, that these encouragements and admonishments against lukewarmness and false teachings is something among religious groups that are not brought attention for and that these are unique features of our community. The only excuse for our community is, that our teaching is the right one, so we had right to do that, we were 'qualified' to do that. But facing the facts, that our community uses the same Bible passages for admonishments and critics towards religious groups as do Jehowah's Witnesses and other sects, then it leads me to some other thoughts -Â
We know, that in all these sects, who acted almost identically to us, we managed to find some obvious false teachings. Remarkably - 'landing' after exclusion into diverse religious atmosphere and into diverse 'world' many ex-brothers have come in several points to a very similar understanding. what was wrong in our community and what might have a smell of false teaching. I think, here fits suitably one of my national proverbial sayings (modified a bit, in order to express my thought in a more polite way): "One's own excrement doesn't smell bad". But being away for a while it becomes easier to admit, that also we had some teachings, that are questionable.
In Mt 5:39-47 Jesus shows, in which point our love must differ from worldly love, so that His love will be visible and will be light for the world. THIS is the passage, and THIS is the love we must be guided by. This is the core teaching of Jesus about love, which is not seeking for preconditioned 'common ground' to practice it, but which is conditionless and the same towards everybody.
Our community saw often the practice of love in other denomination as inclination to excessive religious tolerance. We saw a certain formalism, which it caused among religious groups. But again: 'assess yourself', what is more difficult: whether to follow the teaching about love based on Mt 5:39-47 or the kind of 'assessing love', which is practiced by our community and which says goodbye to everybody as soon they've lost the 'common ground'.
My personal opinion is, that love, which is expressed in Mt 5:39-47 is the ground, which is missing in our community and THIS must be searched for. And then it would give sense and justification also to this strenghtless, bigot and dried-up 'assessing love' of our community, which contains only remnant of that love from Pauline doctrine, which has its base in 1 Cor 13.
This is my assessment. I encourage community to love everybody conditionless, without looking common ground for being warm and kindhearted towards others. Because, in this way the love is not unconditional anymore.
I know, it is hard to follow the principles of love described in Mt 5:39-47. And my thoughts here show, that often I myself don't manage to follow it. But I keep trying in faith and hope, that taking Mt 5:39-47 as a basis for love, I'll be more and more able to be empathetic, kind and warm to EVERYBODY and WITHOUT CONDITION (also towards those, with whom I won't ever have any 'common ground').
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Concerning this topic I'll quote something from community's topic "Love and assessment" on their website:
"If the motivation to help is lacking, even a completely righteous and correct judgement can turn into a loveless and merciless condemnation."
I would add: if the motivation to help is lacking, even a completely righteous and correct assessment can turn into a loveless and merciless condemnation. And that is, what is happening in our community. We laid too much trust onto the effect of assessment, It has effect only then, when behind that is love. Assessment is not equal with love. Our loveless assessments have lead community into massive exclusions.
On the community's topic "Love and assessment" there is a sentence:
"Assessment is an indispensable manifestation of love."
As I mentioned in the beginning: in these two passages there is nothing written about assessment. It would be even quite grotesque to imagine, if you try to think in Mt 5:38-48 somebody loving its enemy, adding to it 'assessing flavour': If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also and assess his state in front of God. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well, and assess his state in front of God. And if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles and assess his state in front of God.
Jesus' teaching without assessment would fit here the best. Assessment is not necessary here, because in the light of these obvious love-deeds this enemy sees his state in front of God without adding moralizing words. Love-deeds are here the finest articulation of Jesus' teaching about love.
In Mt 5 and 1 Cor 13 the love is described in a very simple and understandable way. The features of love are very similar. We cannot read into these passages also 'assessment' only because for our community the assessment is a self-evident and indispensable manifestation of love. The self-evident and indispensable things are just these two passages speaking about, and authors are doing it without the excessive 'assessing flavour'.
In the same topic about "Love and assessment" there is another sentence:
"If we also want others to get close to Him, we must follow Jesus' example even if it sometimes brings conflicts and rejection." (2 Timothy 4:14-15)
Yes, and we know the instructions from Jesus, how to behave in the conflicts and with enemies: in heart the same attitude as described in Mt 5:39-47 - not to flee, but go them a mile or two. We can at least pray for those, 'who don't let to love themselves'. Did we pray for Kluge? If not, then why? Too formalistic? Yes, maybe really, in the context of community's concept about love it sounds as formalistic and grotesque as in my above mentioned comparison Jesus' love with community's one.
Another sentence from the same topic:
"Jesus' central thought is that we have to see our own sins graver than those of others. This means self-criticism and turning away from our sins. In this way we will be able to help others..."
Where did our community practice self-criticism, seeing our own sins bigger than that of others, in big picture? Reading the apology of J.A. it seems, that in our community there are only angels, everything is OK, everybody is happy and holy. And Kluge is devil, who doesn't want to see the same faults, which G.Kluge accuses community, J.A.'s aim was often to show, that catholic church errs much more gravely in points Kluge accused us.
This is not the only instance from our practising love. Our aim was generally to love these 'religious' and spiritually blind outsiders in thus manner, giving them admonishments, pointing on their false teachings. That shows also our community's website, which focuses mostly on false doctrines of others and gives the specific flavour to the main topics such as "Love and assessment", in order to show again: 'this and that is missing outside, but we have maintained it'.
If we maintained the love which is described in Mt 5:39-47, then God would surely enable us to practice the love towards insiders and outsiders in the manner, which turns not to the community into massive exclusions and would not turn outsiders to defense themselves. It would lead to the real dialogue and probable help from outside, so that our community would pertain its identity, without that aggressive / assessing taste of love.
Look again Mt 5:39-47 and you'll see, how much Jesus would appreciate our aggressive output of love.