We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 1 John 3:14 (NIV)

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Our love for one another is the fruit, not the root, of our relationship with God. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, taught that our love for others emerges from our relationship with God; that anyone born of God who knows God will love with the love of God (1 John 4:7, based on NLT).

In a sense, the process of sanctification—our movement toward becoming portraits of Jesus—involves God-love cleaning the clutter we’ve hidden in the cupboards and corners of our being. The Eternal Lover moves with deliberation through the grit and grime of our sin. He throws open the shades and wipes down the windows of our souls until we “shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:15 NIV).

As God scrubs our insides with the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, we pass from “death to life” (1 John 3:14 NIV). We are transformed from people who are selective in whom and how we love into people energized by God’s Spirit to love one another abundantly and unconditionally.

It takes faith to love another with God-love flowing into us. Like Peter, we sink or step when we keep our eyes on Jesus and not the stormy waves of human emotions. Human love fears the water; God-love walks across the waves with such confidence and grace that the storm is quelled.

Love starts with God. God loved you first, and your ability to love others comes from your connection with God. God loved you; now, you love others, and that allows others to see God in you (1 John 4:11–12).

Love proves Jesus-life. When you love others abundantly and unconditionally, you prove you’ve passed from death to Jesus-life. It proves you’re now alive and connected to Jesus through the Holy Spirit (1 John 3:14).

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