From Death To Life

Read: 1 John 3:11-15

If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 1 John 3:14

IN WORD

This world is broken. You know that; you see evidence of it every day. You also know the explanation given in the early chapters of Genesis. One act of rebellion invited the rebellious spirit into the core of our souls, resulting in catastrophic consequences for the human race. And that rebellious spirit is self-centered by nature. It reverses the flow of the most powerful force in the universe to feed ourselves rather than others. It turns love inward.

That’s a deadly direction. Our own love was never meant to be spent on ourselves. It was meant to flow outward, to be fully received from God and fully spent on Him and each other. When we enter the Kingdom of life, that tragic reversal is reversed again; love is turned back to its proper direction. The King bathes us in His love, we receive it in gratitude, and then we are free to offer it back to Him and to everyone else. That’s how we experience life instead of death.

If that isn’t our experience, we are still living in the culture of another kingdom, no matter how many times we’ve prayed to receive Christ or declared our Kingdom loyalties. Love is evidence that we are truly living in a Kingdom environment, drinking in life rather than death. Without it, we are still walking in darkness and experiencing the fruit of rebellion. We are missing the benefits of the Kingdom.

IN DEED

Always check the direction of your love. Is it flowing outward? Is it truly turned toward God and others? It’s okay to admit that it isn’t; every human being has had to deal with vestiges of the Fall, even after coming into the Kingdom. But if your life feels more like death, then the direction of your love may be the reason. The Kingdom culture is overflowing with the love of the Father. Fully drink it in. Bask in it. Saturate yourself in it. Then let it spill over lavishly into the lives of others. You and they will begin to experience the fullness of life.

ADDITIONAL READING: John 5:24

Pour into our hearts the attitude of Your love.

HANS URS VON BALTHASAR