“For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, “For we also are His children.””
—Acts 17:28

You and I are the pinnacle of all God has made, and it’s clear He saved the best for last. Why do I say this? Because He created us in His image, and today’s verse tells us that we exist in Him.

All that God has made is in Him because He upholds everything He has created by His power. (See Hebrews 1:3 and Colossians 1:17.) But while God’s creation is in Him, it is also separate from Him. We’re separate from Him in the sense that we’re unique and have our own will. In other words, you can choose to do this or to do that. God doesn’t force you to wear a green coat or a white coat. You have the freedom as an individual to choose how to dress, which car to buy, or what to eat for breakfast.

That is by design, of course. Father God loves us, but He never wanted to force us to love Him in return. He wants us to choose to love Him. A real love relationship involves two unique persons with separate wills. For a love bond and relationship to take place, each unique individual in the relationship must “will it.” When we choose to love our Father, it literally moves His heart.

Because of God’s great love for us, He sent Yeshua and has given us the freedom and opportunity to choose to love Him back. In fact, this is all He really wants from you and me. This is why Yeshua taught that the greatest commandment is to love Adonai with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matt. 22:37).

Father God, thank You for loving me. In You I live and move and have my being. I choose to love You in return. Father God, may my choices show that I love You. Help me to honor You with my life.

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