My workout playlist might surprise you. The range of musical genres and artists may not exactly seem like the type of music that gets your motivation high, your heart pumping and pushes you to give it your all in a workout.
For instance, who works out to Frank Sinatra’s “Love and Marriage?” Umm…me.
“Love and marriage…they go together like a horse and carriage.” So says Old Blue Eyes. In the strengthening of our character, the horse and carriage are love and joy.
Regardless of your religious background, if you have been to a wedding you are likely familiar with the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, aka the love chapter. Love is defined, described and laid out in its most pure form in words of this book. Despite the engaging storytelling of some of my favorite chick lit authors, 1 Corinthians 13 is the by far the greatest chapter written on love ever. Period.
The chapter ends this way: “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I Cor. 13:13 Click To TweetLove is the GOAT. {That’s the Greatest of All Time}
According to reference.com, the word “love” is mentioned 551 times in the NIV version of the Bible (319 in the Old Testament and 232 in the New).
{If you’ve never read it, or you tend to skim over it thinking you’ve been to enough weddings you could recite it yourself, I encourage you to take 15 minutes and re-read it. Examine how you love next to the definitions of love here. It will challenge your heart for sure…I know it did mine.}
Love Comes in Different Forms
There are different types of love referenced in Scripture. Phileo love is brotherly love and is the origin of the name of the city of Philadelphia, whose nickname is the City of Brotherly Love. This is the type of love we exhibit to our family and friends.
The Hallmark Channel is built around eros love. This is romantic love, the stuff chick lit novels and movies are made of.
Finally, there’s agape love. Agape is a Greek term for the highest form of love. This is the type of love God has for us and how we can love God in return. Agape love is sacrificial love – the kind of love God exhibited when he gave up his only Son for us.
When you exercise, in order to build up muscle, you actually have to break the muscles down first. Then, as the muscle rebuilds, it comes back stronger.
I see the same thing happen with love at times. Broken hearts are terrible and awful at the same time. But, as they mend and as we allow the Lord to put the pieces of our brokenness back together, our hearts are stronger. We are restored, able to show and give love more strongly than before. The key is we have to be willing to let God put our hearts back together.
To build love up, sometimes it has to be broken down first. Click To TweetWhich forms of love are you best at? Which one(s) could use some work?
With a little love, you can experience its friend, joy. And we’ll explore that fruit next.