1 John 3:14 ¹⁴We ourselves know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers [and sisters]. Whoever does not love remains in death.

John reiterates his main point that Christians ought to seek to love one another in their relationships. The subject of the sentence, we ourselves, is emphatic and stresses the assurance of life that this verse implies. We can know that we have life! The proof of eternal life is to live in love. However, this love is not simply good thoughts or kind actions. The type of love to which John aspires for his readers is the outflow of God’s own love within their hearts, motivating and guiding every thought and action. Love is essential for life. Without love for one another, death and all it affects come quickly. Love is the proof that a person has moved from death to life. Likewise, if we lack love, we need to look deeply into ourselves to see if death is at work and if the darkness has creeped in somehow.

Our faith in Christ brings change when we open ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit. If we want confirmation and assurance that we indeed have eternal life, we can use the love meter. Are we channels of God’s love? Do we love others as creations of God? Do we love unconditionally and even sacrificially? Loving intentionally like God loves us will begin to change us and lead us to eternal life, even if we do not know much theology or details about the Bible. Love is the simplest and most universal language of humanity. It brings us close to the character and person of God. If we think we have this new eternal life in Christ but have bitterness or unforgiveness in our hearts, if our love is self-seeking, we have to ask ourselves if we really do have this life in Jesus. It may be an imitation, a life of our own creation. Without God’s love and life in us, we remain dead. This state of death affects us in every way. Love opens the door to life.