But the rest of us take it by faith, and when we profess that faith, then God abides in us, too. Christianity is a religion of relationship. The Christian is one who abides in Jesus, and Jesus in him or her. The Holy Spirit is given as a sign of this relationship, and the Holy Spirit pours God s love into us. Therefore and catch this we confirm that intimate relationship with God by being loving.
Practical love confirms the whole process.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Because of God abiding in us, we love. And then when we catch ourselves thus acting like a Christian, it confirms for us the reality of our relationship with God. Many adopted children will tell you that they could care less who their biological parents were. It is their adoptive parents who they consider to be their true parents because they were the ones acting as parents to them.