by way of Gordon Fee

Quick test, based on some challenging thoughts I heard from Dr. Gordon Fee...

Which would you/I rather be: slave or free?
Which is better: love or no-love?
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Which would you/I prefer to be: one whipping another or the one whipped?
Honestly?

Most, I presume, would answer with the following: free, love, one with a whip.

Gordon made an interesting point, "The one who is whipping CANNOT love the one being whipped." Paraphrased some more, The whippER does not have the choice to love, only the whippED does. Only the one being whipped is FREE.

FREE!!

I never associate whipping with freedom except as antithesis. Gordon's point was that when one has Jesus as Lord/God of life, then this person is free to love the whippER, for the one whipped now sees him/herself as no better than the one with the whip. Jesus is Lord of that person too (whether they submit or not is a wholly other matter). [My thoughts here] Further, if the one being whipped is NOT able to love the one with the whip, is not able to see themselves equal in Jesus' economy/culture and equally worthy of love, then the one being whipped is NOT living with Jesus as Lord/God.

Hmmm.