Kierkegaard used this same text for An Upbuilding Discourse . No, no, love's judgment is the severest judgment. Kierkegaard realizes that his reader may misunderstand the interpretation of the verse, but he is not quick to define his position. First, he wants to lay the groundwork of love. Love is not fluff or sentimentality.
Love is dynamic, severe and cataclysmic.
He then points us to a common misreading of the text, briefly addressing the doctrine of unmerited grace. This is a rare passage in the Kierkegaardian corpus, seeing that he almost strictly avoided theological debates. It is with love as it is with faith. Think of one of the unfortunates whom Christ healed by a miracle. And it is with this matter of loving much.