How is it that we come to love?

I continue to ruminate on some of the thoughts I posted in "109 Little Words", and to ponder love in general. Some words I read weeks ago have surfaced in my mind once again, and I want to post them here. Perhaps you can join me in chewing on them.

And as we behold the glory of Christ in the gospel and savor his purity, we come to see sin as repugnant, and salvation as magnificent. We see people no longer, as Paul says, "according to the flesh" (2 Corinthians 5:16), but with a love that "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7). We despair of no one, because in spite of human depravity, "with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). And we see culture no longer merely with the eyes of seduction or despair; but with eyes of hope. The sovereign, living Christ will someday claim this world for himself. Our spirit is wakened and enlivened by beholding the glory of Christ and his passion to make all things serve the glory of his Father.

As our spiritual perception of all things changes by keeping Christ in our steady gaze, our conformity to Christ becomes very practical. Our behavior changes. "A new commandment I give to you," Jesus said, "that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35). As we behold the glory of the Lord in the gospel, the glory of his moral perfections more and more become our desire and our experience, especially the glory of his love for his enemies [...]

As we fix our mind's attention and our heart's affection on the glory of Christ's love, more and more we become loving. John Piper, God is the Gospel, 94.