---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love by its presence, like God by His…"
description: "\"Love by its presence, like God by His, makes everything not necessarily clear or right or even good, but acceptable. Whereas in its absence, as in His,..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/virgilia-peterson-40656_absence_love-by-its-presence-like-god-by-his-mak_2812323.jpg"
---

#  Love by its presence, like God by His, makes everything…

![“Love by its presence, like God by His, makes everything not necessarily clear or right or even good, but acceptable. Whereas in its absence, as in His, there is no hope.” quote by Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/virgilia-peterson-40656_absence_love-by-its-presence-like-god-by-his-mak_2812323.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/virgilia-peterson-40656_absence_love-by-its-presence-like-god-by-his-mak_2812323.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/virgilia-peterson-40656_absence_love-by-its-presence-like-god-by-his-mak_2812323.jpg)

> “Love by its presence, like God by His, makes everything not necessarily clear or right or even good, but acceptable. Whereas in its absence, as in His, there is no hope.”

[Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Presence of love, like divine presence, makes life tolerable despite imperfections; its absence leaves hopelessness.

**In simple terms:** Love’s presence makes life bearable; without it, hope fades.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate love and spiritual connection to find meaning.

Themes

love spirituality hope acceptance

Mood

contemplative hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- faith practice
- counseling sessions

Key Concepts

theology existentialism psychology of love

Questions to Reflect On

- How does love transform suffering?
- Can hope exist without love?

A Different Perspective

Relying solely on love may ignore practical solutions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [No hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-hope/)

## Related quotes

> [The absence of hope can rot a society from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-absence-of-hope-can-rot-a-society-from-within/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [It is the absence of hope, which equals the despair that is the punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fox/it-is-the-absence-of-hope-which-equals-the-despair-that-is-the/)

[James Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fox/)

> [“It is not the absence of hope. Rather, it is the absence of our faith in hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-absence-of-hope-rather-it-is-the-absence-of-our-faith/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [When you visit countries that don't nurture these kinds of ambitions, you can feel th absence of hope...people are reduced to worrying only about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/when-you-visit-countries-that-don-t-nurture-these-kinds-of-ambitions/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [“I truly missed my parents. I wanted to miss them. It was the only way I could love them, a crazy cocktail of longing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-sellers/i-truly-missed-my-parents-i-wanted-to-miss-them-it-was-the-only-way-i/)

[Heather Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-sellers/)

> [And as far as false hope, there is no such thing. There is only hope or the absence of hope - nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-davis/and-as-far-as-false-hope-there-is-no-such-thing-there-is-only-hope-or/)

[Patti Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-davis/)

> [How great love is, presence best trial makes, But absence tries how long this love will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/how-great-love-is-presence-best-trial-makes-but-absence-tries-how/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/absence-sharpens-love-presence-strengthens-it/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A life without love, without the presence of the beloved, is nothing but a mere magic-lantern show. We draw out slide after slide, swiftly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/a-life-without-love-without-the-presence-of-the-beloved-is-nothing/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/absence-doth-sharpen-love-presence-strengthens-it-the-one-brings-fuel/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-overbury/absence-doth-sharpen-love-presence-strengthens-it/)

[Thomas Overbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-overbury/)

> [Your presence should bring joy to a conversation or meeting. Be the light you were created to be. People have to love being in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mly-ab/your-presence-should-bring-joy-to-a-conversation-or-meeting-be-the/)

MlY AB

> [“If you are seeking closeness to the Beloved, love everyone. Whether in their presence or absence, see only their good. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaikh-abu-saeed-abil-khair/if-you-are-seeking-closeness-to-the-beloved-love-everyone-whether-in/)

Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Khair

> [“I have always felt that there is a triangular quality to every love affair. There are two lovers and a third element - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-have-always-felt-that-there-is-a-triangular-quality-to-every-love/)

[Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/)

> [Know that you are a miracle and that you have a unique place in the cosmic plan. You are here to be the presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/know-that-you-are-a-miracle-and-that-you-have-a-unique-place-in-the/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

## More by Virgilia Peterson

> [I can understand that memory must be selective, else it would choke on the glut of experience. What I cannot understand is why it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/i-can-understand-that-memory-must-be-selective-else-it-would-choke-on/)

[Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/)

> [Words have their genealogy, their history, their economy, their literature, their art and music, as too they have their weddings and divorces, their successes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/words-have-their-genealogy-their-history-their-economy-their/)

[Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/)

> [Perhaps it is the expediency in the political eye that blinds it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/perhaps-it-is-the-expediency-in-the-political-eye-that-blinds-it/)

[Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/)

> [Were marriage no more than a convenient screen for sexuality, some less cumbersome and costly protection must have been found by this time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/were-marriage-no-more-than-a-convenient-screen-for-sexuality-some/)

[Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/)

> [There is no plummet to sound another's soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/there-is-no-plummet-to-sound-another-s-soul/)

[Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/)

> [However often marriage is dissolved, it remains indissoluble. Real divorce, the divorce of the heart and nerve and fiber, does not exist, since there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/however-often-marriage-is-dissolved-it-remains-indissoluble-real/)

[Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/)

> [Not only are there as many conflicting truths as there are people to claim them; there are equally multitudinous and conflicting truths within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/not-only-are-there-as-many-conflicting-truths-as-there-are-people-to/)

[Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/)

> [In Reno, there is always a bull market, never a bear market, for the stocks and bonds of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/in-reno-there-is-always-a-bull-market-never-a-bear-market-for-the/)

[Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/)

> [A lady, that is an enlightened, cultivated, liberal lady - the only kind to be in a time of increasing classlessness - could espouse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/a-lady-that-is-an-enlightened-cultivated-liberal-lady-the-only-kind/)

[Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/)

[Explore all 10 Virgilia Peterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/)

## More Absence quotes

> [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/)

[James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/)

> [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/)

[Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/)

> [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/)

[William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/)

> [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/)

[Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/)

> [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/)

[Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/)

> [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/)

[Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/)

> [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/)

[John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/)

> [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/)

[Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/)

> [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

> [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/)

[Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/)

> [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/)

[Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/)

> [We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/)

[B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/)

[Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Love by its presence, like God by His, makes everything not necessarily clear or right or even good, but acceptable. Whereas in its absence, as in His, there is no hope.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Virgilia Peterson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/love-by-its-presence-like-god-by-his-makes-everything-not-necessarily/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Absence"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/love-by-its-presence-like-god-by-his-makes-everything-not-necessarily/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/virgilia-peterson-40656_absence_love-by-its-presence-like-god-by-his-mak_2812323.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/virgilia-peterson-40656_absence_love-by-its-presence-like-god-by-his-mak_2812323.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/virgilia-peterson-40656_absence_love-by-its-presence-like-god-by-his-mak_2812323.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Love by its presence, like God by His, makes everything not necessarily clear or right or even good, but…” — Virgilia Peterson",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Virgilia Peterson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Love by its presence, like God...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/love-by-its-presence-like-god-by-his-makes-everything-not-necessarily/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/love-by-its-presence-like-god-by-his-makes-everything-not-necessarily/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
