Knowing Love
“Everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.”1 John 4:7b-8
What does it mean to know love? Isn’t love a feeling or an emotion? How do we know love? Shouldn’t we just experience it?
Love is not an emotion or a feeling or a concept. Love is a person. Love is God. Love is Jesus Christ. To know love is to know God. All that we know about love must be known and experienced from God’s perspective. True love cannot be apart from God. Some may scoff at this and say “Well, I don’t need God to love,” but the truth is yes you do. Without God love has no meaning. Without God we don’t really know what love is, because God is love. Without God, you may strive to love, to experience love, to do all that you can to find love, but if you do not love with God you will always only be searching, and never really finding love.
We can never find love or love anyone else if we do not first receive love. We can’t give what we don’t have. But God became man for us and He has given Himself to us. And so, if we believe this and live this, then we will truly know love, and will receive this love, and then we will be able to truly and unreservedly love.
Love consists in this: “Not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.” Let’s get to know this Love who has come into this world so that we may have the fullness of love and so live life to the full. How? Speak to God and rest in the silence of His love today.
