We love different people in our lives for different reasons. Our Bible Study this week opened with our thinking through where our love has its strongest source in our relationships.

We discussed why a parent loves a child. Some of our thoughts were protection, duty, instinct, hormones, investment of self, nurturing and planning. It was evident from this portion of our discussion that there is a biological connectedness we share with our children that is often a strong source of our love.

We discussed why a couple loves each other. Some of our thoughts were sexual attraction, personality, respect, investment of self, seeing oneself reflected by the love of the other, support and a common history. This type of love has a strong foundation in the choice to share at least a portion of life together as intimate companions.

We discussed why friends love one another. Some of our thoughts were shared interests, trust, common history, admiration and a daily choice to remain friends. A good summation was this quote: “We have friends for a reason, friends for a season and friends for a lifetime.” This type of love is very often dependent on some common ground shared by both people.

Paul often speaks of a Spirit-based love. In today‘s reading, he states his joy. Even though he is in prison, he is constantly giving thanks to God for his Philippian family and friends in Christ.