"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
This verse tells us a little something about the nature of true believers as well as the nature of God. He Himself is love, and anyone who claims to be born of Him must also be love. In other words, if you do not love, you cannot be a child of God.
One who does not love knows nothing of love, and if they know nothing of love, they cannot claim to know God. True love comes from a heart abiding in a deep relationship with God. Only the person who knows what it’s like to be lavishly loved can lavishly love others.
This is not a selfish love, rather it is a selfless love, a sacrificial love. This love is willing to overlook a myriad of wrongs. This love forgives. This love extends grace. Christ told us those who are forgiven much love much. Those who know the depth of their own sin before God and how richly they’ve been forgiven cannot help but love others to the same breathtaking degree.
If God, in Christ, has forgiven our mountain of sin, how could we possibly withhold this same glorious love for others? It cannot be done. Love, therefore, is the test of who truly knows God.
