John declared that God is love. He must be to send His Son to a lost world. God is love, and when we receive His Son, He expects us to share that love with others. Our loving acts of kindness, benevolence, service, choosing unselfishness over “looking out for #1”—all of these things prove to others (and to ourselves!) that God is in us. God’s love in us will show itself in practical ways. It doesn’t come naturally, though. We’re still stuck in these human skins. So how do we grow in God’s love? For one thing, we can’t be dependent on human emotions. We might not always “feel” like being kind. But if we meditate on His Word, if we pray daily for His compassion, if we spend time truly considering the sacrifice Jesus made for us, the natural outgrowth will be that of love. John taught that the love of God, which abides in us, is the foundation on which we build our lives as followers of Jesus. God’s love flowing out of us gives evidence that we are in Christ. It gifts others, but it also gifts us with the secure assurance that He remains in us.