Full Stretch Love

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.” - 1 Peter 1:12

Along with many Americans, I treat the New Year as a launchpad for new ideals, routines, and fresh starts. I am a sucker for a good New Year’s resolution, and one of those is always “start working out again.” With the New Year, I also started a word study on the book of 1 Peter. It was fitting that while I was hobbling around my house with a sore everything from the fitness routine, I read 1 Peter 1:12: “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.”

The Greek word for “deeply” here is ektenōs – which means, “at full stretch” – or, “in an all out matter with intense strain.” Sometimes we feel emotionally sore from our attempts to love someone, or the demands it places on us. But loving so deeply is a command from God, so we can embrace the strain on our life we sometimes feel when serving our others.

We may hate working out in the moment, but it’s “good pain,” which makes us stronger after weeks and months of consistency. Here’s to another year of increasing our capacity to love, and embracing the strain.