If you listen carefully, you can often tell what kind of engine a car has. Diesel engines have a deep and distinctive rumble. Gas-powered cars give off a familiar hum. Electric vehicles glide by almost silently. Each car moves, but the sound behind the movement indicates something about what’s under the hood.
Recently, I read this note in my study Bible about Paul’s letters to the Corinthians: “There is energy and compelling impulse in Paul’s correspondence. But that energy is not driven by anxiety. His passion flows from a longing to share the joy found in the life of faith in Christ.”
What stood out to me is the reminder that every one of us is fueled by something.
Some of us run on anxiety—always bracing for what might go wrong.
Some run on anger—driven by wounds or disappointments.
Others run on fear—fear of missing out, being forgotten, or falling behind.
But when a life runs on love—love for God and love for others—it moves and sounds different. It feels different. It drives different.
It’s not frantic or chaotic.
It’s not burned out or bitter.
It’s not puffed up or self-important.
It’s peaceful, gracious, grounded, humble, kind. It’s full of the wonderful qualities found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
So, let’s take the time to “lift the hood” in God’s presence like David did: “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24).
May love be what drives us because other fuel sources make for a very bumpy ride.