Abound in Love (Part 2)
Bible gym bro šŖ
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And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NET)
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Why does Paul want us abounding in love?
In short, to be matured (perfected) in Christ.
The end.
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Ok, Iāll say more.
I find the correlation between increasing in love and strengthening our hearts interesting.
If I go with a strength training metaphor, I suppose it could be like going and working out at the gym. With the right movements and consistent nutrition, you can expect to grow slightly stronger and stronger after each trip.
Maybe not so noticeable to see change every time, but enough to see better results within a week or two.
When weāre starting out, big increases happen fast.
Think about it: Going from zero workouts to three per week is a massive, MASSIVE percentage boost in your workouts. Likewise, you would expect the first few weeks to see some of the biggest noticeable differences.
Itās similar in the spiritual life.
When we first join the Christian āgymā (that is, salvation), we see a massive results fast. Not everything is perfect, thereās so much more āstrength trainingā to do. But neither should we discount how much immediate work we can see the Holy Spirit doing.
But workouts arenāt everything; nutrition is key too.
In our spiritual life, that means consistent, daily time spent munching on the Bread of Life (that is, time spent in the Word). Plus, prayer, fellowship, and witnessing. All centered around Christ.
(Look at that: the classic Navigator Wheel)
Anyway, love is foundational to this maturing process.
Just like Paul, I hope you increase & abound in love for one another and for all.
ā Ricky Ketchum
Copyright Ā© 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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