“No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.”
—1 John 4:12

We don’t walk by sight. We walk by the Spirit, and we can’t see the Spirit on this side of glory. But if instead of trying to see the Spirit, we choose to know Messiah Jesus by walking in love, the apostle John tells us that we will be abiding in God Himself.

As a young believer, I didn’t think much about love. I thought about climbing mountains and fighting. I thought about spiritual warfare. I thought about conquering. All of that is really important, but as I’ve matured I’ve come to understand that those who have truly grown strong and have deep roots in their relationship with God are walking in love.

Love is the greatest power of all. It is not first a feeling; it is a choice. God didn’t say, “Whosoever feels…”; He said, “Whosoever will….” You see, the thing that makes you and me unique as human beings is that we have a conscious and free choice. All day long we’re making choices. Animals don’t have this freedom of choice. They don’t have moral conscious awareness; they don’t think through and process moral decisions. They just live by their survival instincts. But as human beings uniquely created in the image of God, we have consciousness and the power of choice. And the way we overcome is by choosing to walk in love.

Walking in love takes effort, that’s for sure. It’s like swimming upstream. But hear this: to really know Messiah Jesus, we must daily choose love. Like Yeshua, who so loved you and me that He gave His life for us, we must recognize that love involves putting others first and sacrificing for them. So whether it’s through our thoughts, our actions, or our words, if we choose to walk in love each day, we’ll know our Creator in a deeper way and come more fully into His light.

Father God, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight. Make me conscious of whether my words, thoughts, and actions reflect Your love. Lord, You love me unconditionally. Help me to love others the way You love me.

Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider, Rivers of Divine Truth (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2021), Used by permission.