1 John 4:8 "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
How many friends do you have? I'm not talking about Facebook friends. How
many people do you know well enough to say they are your friend? How many
acquaintances do you have? Hopefully you're stopping to think just now that you
have many more acquaintances than you have true friends.
A friend is someone that you have close interactions with to the point that you
know their likes and dislikes. You pretty much know how they will respond to
most situations. You enjoy the same things, and spend a lot of time
together. You even begin to act alike.
Next, how many relatives do you have? In the past year, I have met at least two
relatives that I didn't even know existed. I met them, but I really don't
know them. I dare say we all have blood relatives that we do not know
much about them and some we do not even know.
John is saying in our verse that if we do not have love for others, then we
really do not know much, if anything, about God. We might say, well there are
some people that are so contrary to me that I just can't love them. Let's see
what we know about God in that situation. "But God commendeth his
love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
(Romans 5:8 ) Yes, we were contrary to God, yet He loved and still loves us.
Jesus left this commandment for us: "By this shall all men know
that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:35)
Do I know God? If so, do I exhibit love in my life?