If you have ever been on an escalator and turned in the opposite direction so that you are walking against the movement of the escalator then you have created that illusion of walking forward when in fact you are not moving. It can be an amusing thing to do. It can appear that you should be moving forward but all of your steps take you nowhere.
If we will walk in step with the Lord, if we will be guided by the Spirit and deny the sinful nature in us, we must live out the love of God. This is walking in step with the Lord. This is how we choose to be wise and not foolish. This is how we gain a deeper understanding of God – by living out the love that God has given us.
Living in step with God means that we do godly things. We offer kindness and care to those in need. We live a life of humility and gentleness, putting others ahead of ourselves and working toward the good of all people. When each step we take is an expression of love and care we are walking in the footsteps of Christ
John gives us an observation on how to live a life of love, an expression of the love that God has given us. Through the example given how are we to express love?
There are times when we as Christians are doing little more than the escalator trick in our walk with God. We can appear to be walking in step with the Spirit – we can look good on the outside – when in fact we are doing nothing. I believe that it would not take much effort for each one of us to find a person in our area who is in need. The poor and genuinely needy are around us all the time.
But do we do anything to help others? Is the love of God really in us? If we truly love God and truly have the love of God in us then we will walk in step with God. We will allow the Spirit to guide us to do good and merciful things that will help those who need it.
When we offer help to the needy and the poor, the spiritually wanting people around us, we are expressing the love of God. When we help others we are being wise and not foolish. We are denying the sinful nature and following the leading of the Spirit.
DAILY CHALLENGE: How will you demonstrate that the love of God is in you this week?
