The Father is reminding me to “love better” everywhere I turn. Most recently the reminder has come in Ephesians 5:1-2, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
But what does it mean to walk in love?
What does this love walk look like in my every day life?
In the original language of Scripture, the word for walk in this verse means to conduct one’s daily life. It’s about my moments in the day. It’s about my choices—how I choose to respond in the moments of my day.
- What is my reaction when someone cuts me off in traffic?
- When I have a disagreement with my husband?
- When a co-worker makes my day tough?
- What is my response when I am inconvenienced or interrupted from my task at hand?
- How will I choose to respond?
Walking in love is something I am having to learn to practice. It requires intentionality. It requires a surrender of my desires. But I am not left to navigate this love-walk alone. My motivation and help are found in the word “beloved” in Ephesians 5:1. As a Christ-follower, I am the beloved of the Father. God provides all that is needed for me to walk in love.
First and foremost because, God is love:
“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15
“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” Psalm 36:5
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God.” 1 John 4:7
Secondly, I have been given the example of Christ to imitate, the gift of His presence and the power of the Holy Spirit dwellng within me. The question I have to continually ask and answer is:
How will the fact that I am beloved by the Father motivate my response in this moment?
Here are just a few reminders of the reality of being the beloved of the Father:
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7
And these barely scratch the surface of the depth, breadth, length and height of His love! His Word is resplendent with so many more examples of His love for us.
Let us turn to God’s Word to learn what it truly means to walk in love.
