WHOM HAVING NOT SEEN, YE LOVE
“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” I Peter 1:8
Peter writes of the love we have for Christ, though we have never seen Him. Of course, Peter had seen the Lord Jesus. He was brought to the Savior through the influence of his brother, Andrew.
Peter became one of the very closest followers of Jesus. He was with Him on the mount when the Lord was transfigured. Peter was one of only three who witnessed as Jesus raised Jairus’ twelve-year-old daughter from the dead. Peter walked on the water to Jesus. There was very little that Peter had not seen. But he was writing to those who had not seen these miracles. They had not seen the tears of compassion on the cheeks of the Son of God. They had not seen His anguish and suffering on Golgotha’s hill. They had not seen Jesus after He rose from the dead. And yet, Peter said, “Whom having not seen, ye love.”
Even though we have not seen Him, we love Him. We love Him for Who He is and how He is. We love Him because He is full of mercy and grace. We love Him because He persistently loves us. We love Him for all that He has done for us. We love Him for going to the cross for our sins. We love Him for showing us our need and for drawing us to Himself. Even though we have not seen Him, by faith, we love Him. Peter said, “though now ye see him not, yet believing.”
“Yet believing” speaks of our faith. Faith makes Him real to us. We love Him by faith. We believe the testimony of the Word of God concerning Emmanuel, the Friend of sinners. Faith has mixed with the promises of God and sees the invisible. By faith, we commune with the Lamb of God in prayer. We have not seen Him, but we have heard His voice in our hearts saying, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” “I am with you always,” and “Where I am, there ye may be also.” We have not seen Him, “yet believing” we love Him and “rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
By faith, our hearts can be filled with joy. We have not seen Him, but we love Him. We have not seen Him, but we will see Him one day. Until then, we will love Him and rejoice in Him, and wait until our eyes behold the Son of God.