1 John 4:8
[8] “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
How can people live with the absence of love? Never expressing love for their children, their spouse or the parents who sacrificed and raised them. What a tragedy when someone lives such a selfish life only thinking about number one. It is hard to comprehend how someone can abandon their loved ones, or go so far as to even mistreat them. Why do we live in a world that at times can seem so cruel?
The answer is in our verse. The Bible makes it clear that God is love and those who have true love know God. People who have no love do not know Him. God is the missing link in their lives. This is why they do the evil things they do, or say the awful things that say. God makes the difference by placing His love within us, and it forever changes us.
We understand why the world is so dangerous today. There is so much hatred and malice on every hand because they do not know the love of God. Think about those who are religious but lost. They are miserable in their religion like a sinner who is miserable in their sin. Again the missing link is the love of God. This is not a worldly love for passions or self-pleasure, but an unconditional spiritual love from the Heavenly Father.
God’s love is a love that changes the individual from within. What we see on the outside is an expression of what is happening on the inside. A man that has not experienced this amazing love has not experienced the God of this love. Ask yourself this question, “Do I truly love the things of God?” Here is another question that is even more important, “Do I truly love God?” If you know Him, the answer to both of these questions is “yes”. If the answer is “no, I do not love God nor the things of God”, then it means you do not know God. Those who know Him also love Him.