God Loves Us

Why is god so judgmental?
That seems to be the question that bothers a lot of people these days (and probably for millennia past).
"What does god have against us anyway? What did we do that's got him so ticked off?
"I don't think that's very reasonable of him. In fact I don't think that's really god at all. I think that's just the impression of god created by religious systems that want to manipulate people and scare them into their masses.
"So then, if there is a god, what is he like? What would make a good god?
"God should be kind, good, loving, peaceful. And why not? After all, we know that the opposite of those things would make for a very bad god. So if there really is a good god he must be those things. Which also must mean that he can't be judging, because judging isn't very loving..." or is it?
Let's think about this for a moment. Why is love so great?
1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 says:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails...And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Love looks like a pretty good thing. I can see why people would want a god of love.
Looking even further we see that love fulfills all the requirements of scripture.

One of them, an expert in the law, tested [Jesus] with this question: 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?'
Jesus replied: '"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.' (Matthew 22:35-40)

And again:

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law. The commandments, 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not covet,' and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10)

Does this not sound appealing? If the world was governed by love, would it not be a wonderful place to live?
Why is that? How do we know that the world would be better without these things (murder, theft, covetousness/envy)? What is it about love that generates these actions of good-will, this way of life that would be so...good?
I would submit as the answer to these questions, Righteousness.
Love knows right and wrong. Love seeks out what is right for ones own actions, and for the benefit of others.
Love longs for justice. NOT the broken justice of our corrupt human legal systems, but the justice that is governed by Righteousness and Truth.
This is why we long for a god of love. We have lived for so long in a broken, evil and corrupt world. We see the wrong done to others; the wrong done to those we care about; the wrong done to those for whom our hearts break. We want justice. We love.

Now do you see why a god who is simply our approximation of "love" is an incomplete god? We think of love, but not of righteousness. We want a god that cares for us, but we don't want a god of justice.
We cannot have true love without righteousness. We cannot have care and concern without a desire for justice.
Now do you see why God--a great God of limitless love and measurelesss mercy--must be a righteous God; a just God?
For it is written:

The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice. The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. (Psalm 9:7-10)

And again, "Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" (Isaiah 30:18).
If we do not understand justice in conjunction with love, it is because we are a broken and sinful people. We do not have true righteousness as our compass. That is why we NEED a God who is not only a god of love, but also a God of justice.
"Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the LORD that man gets justice" (Proverbs 29:26).
We need a Benevolent Ruler and a Righteous Judge.
We cannot have one without the other.