And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:16

Love is not just an action, but a state of being. God not only loves us, but His entire essence is love—it is His very identity. When we can trust God’s inherent nature as reliable, steadfast, and certain, we develop an intimate connection through all seasons and experiences in life. From this foundation, we can rely on Him through everything, understanding that every part of our lives stems from this unconditional, loving energy. Therefore, if we are all children of God, whose inherent essence is love, then that means He lives in us, and we too are expressions of that divine love.

To ‘live in love’ is a simple yet profound practice, where every action we take, every word we speak, every thought we think, is rooted in that light. Anytime we choose love, we manifest God’s presence to the world around us. Anytime we choose this, especially in moments where we don’t feel the inclination to, we transform our reality. It shifts our energy from bitterness and resentment toward wholeness and kindness. Loving others connects us more deeply to Him, simply because we experience His indwelling presence through each loving choice.

This consciousness creates a direct connection between our horizontal relationships—family, friends, partners, coworkers, neighbors—and our vertical relationship with God Himself. How can we live in this state? We pause before reacting. We ask ourselves, within each present moment, regardless of what we’re experiencing, ‘What would love do?’ And then, we act from that place. We speak from that space. We embody the truth that ‘God is love,’ and when we live in love, we live in God, and God in us.