Vibrant and Vigorous Life

how physical exercise allows us to live and love fully

I have a complicated relationship with exercise. Some of my best memories involve intense physical exertion: hours of pickup tackle football in the neighborhood as a young man; backpacking the wildernesses out West with Jenn and our three children; chasing deer, elk, and caribou in New Mexico, Texas, Montana, Canada, and Greenland. Experiences like these have shaped the man I’m becoming — and their corporeal challenges were integral to how they have impacted my body and soul.

But I also dread (yes, dread) the monotony and misery of regular exercise. I relish a strenuous hike in the hills of San Francisco with Jennifer before getting dim sum or ramen, for example, but hate preparing for those hikes by working out at home.

I’m not too sure why.

Is it a desire to be outdoors rather than in? Definitely. Is it a bit of laziness, too? I think so. Then again, I’m no stranger to hard work. I love building things with my hands, wearing myself out with a yard or house project, or grinding out a project at work. Is it a lack of discipline? Yes, there’s some of that. I’ve always resented and avoided routines and predictability. I mean, one of the aspects that draws me so strongly to fellowship and camaraderie — to exploration and adventure, too — is that people and new things are impossible to predict. But the gym? It’s always the same: same me, same weights, same walls, same pain.

So, whatever the mix of reasons, while my life remains active, I’ve mostly avoided fitness facilities and fitness regimens. But it’s dawning on me that I may need to change my thinking.

This past winter, during a ride in a truck in the mountains of Utah, one of my best friends told me about a book he wanted me to read: “Outlive” by Peter Attia. I hadn’t heard of it, but the world had. The Economist named it a Book of the Year in 2023. Bloomberg did that, too. And it reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list and has remained on the list for 25 weeks, selling more than two million copies worldwide — a remarkable figure given its subject matter.

In his book, Attia argues modern medicine is too focused on extending how long we live (lifespan) rather than improving how we live during the years we have left. Doctors, he contends, tend to be reactive, treating diseases after they manifest rather than preventing them. This can result in lives that are lengthy but also characterized by prolonged frailty, disability, and cognitive decline in their last decades.

Instead, Attia argues, we should be proactive about maximizing the time we can live in good physical and mental health, free from debilitating chronic diseases and significant functional decline (healthspan). In other words, we should seek to maximize the quality of our remaining years, increasing the relative percentages of our lives during which we can move fast, think hard and relate well.

Alongside good nutrition, quality sleep, and excellent emotional health, sufficient physical exercise is one of Attia’s “Four Pillars” of healthspan. In fact, he considers working out smartly and consistently to be perhaps the most potent tool for extending healthspan, advocating for a reasonable and individualized mix of strength training (to preserve muscle mass and bone density), aerobic exercise (for cardiovascular health), and stability training (to prevent injuries and maintain mobility).

So, what does all of this have to do with faith? A lot, I think.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize?” asked the apostle Paul (1 Cor. 9:24). “So run,” he emplored, “that you may obtain it,” reminding us that good athletes have “self-control in all things [emphasis added]” (1 Cor. 9:24-25). But this “race” of Paul’s is no actual sporting event; it’s the marathon of being a Jesus follower. It’s the lifelong struggle to live fully and love well.

One of the scribes … asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

Jesus answered, “The most important is … you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31, ESV).

With his powerful athletic metaphor, Paul urged us to steward our minds and bodies so that we can do our very best to fulfill what Jesus says is most important: loving God, loving ourselves, and loving the people God has placed in our lives … for our entire lives. I believe his “all” meant all, that he was beseeching us to avoid anything and everything that might compromise our abilities and capacities for love.

Combining Attia’s science with Paul’s wisdom, we arrive at this truth: Spouses, children, grandchildren, friends old and new, neighbors, colleagues, acquaintances, even us — we all deserve the best versions of ourselves as possible for as long as possible. So, increasing and improving healthspan doesn’t have to be about vanity or fear of death; it can be about faithfulness to love. It can be about faithfulness to Jesus’ two Great Commandments.

Decline will come for each of us. That’s inevitable. And it’s okay because it’s the way God designed things. But speeding our decline? That’s something to avoid, if we can. When we indulge wanton sin or addiction, or when chronic disease, preventable frailty, or cognitive decline strike earlier than necessary, it robs us of precious years we could have spent loving: worshiping God, savoring his gift of this world, traveling with spouses, playing with grandchildren, laughing with some friends, crying with others, mentoring protégés, or simply being fully present for deep conversations.

Nearing the end of an astonishingly vibrant and vigorous life, having walked something like ten thousand miles through mountains and deserts and covering maybe half that mileage again by sea, founding churches, writing letters, and proclaiming the message of Jesus, Paul returned to his athletic metaphor. He declared to Timothy, “I have finished the race” (2 Tim. 4:7). He meant that he had put every effort into sharing the gospel with the world. And finishing for him was about having the physical stamina and spiritual fortitude to love and serve faithfully, completing the course set before him, leaving nothing undone.

• Timothy Keller wrote “Discerning and Using Spiritual Gifts.”

• Timothy Keller wrote “Vocation: Discerning Your Calling.”

• Caroline Fausel wrote “Embracing Whole-Person Wellness.”

• Sample ➼ “The Wellness Revelation” by Alisa Keeton

• Sample ➼ “The Body Revelation” by Alisa Keeton

• Encounter ➼ “A Life of Flourishing”

• Audio Experience ➼ “Know Your Purpose”

• Bible Reading Plan ➼ “30-Day Scripture Challenge”

We updated Rapt’s ‘Best of’ lists this week. Lots of new stuff!

• Bestselling, Top-rated Books

• Inspiring Faith-based Films

• New & Chart-topping Songs

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Spotlight: “Unashamed with the Robertson Family,” hosted by the Duck Dynasty tribe, offers faith, family, and down-to-earth Bible discussion. But with the passing of patriarch Phil Robertson, the podcast has taken on even deeper significance as a celebration of his bold, unapologetic faith and legacy of spreading the gospel.

• Margaret Feinberg has sold more than 1.5 million books and received critical acclaim from USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post.

• Douglas Maddox develops, produces, directs and distributes award-winning films, documentaries and series for Showtime, Netflix and other platforms.

• Naeem Fazal grew up Muslim but had a supernatural experience with Jesus. He’s now an author and pastor of Mosaic Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.

• Travis West is an author and professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan.

• Catherine McNiel is a chaplain, and Jason Hague is a pastor. Together, they created an approachable guide to tackling crises of faith.

P.S. Who should we interview next? Click here to let us know. And what new question would you like us to ask them? Click here to submit your suggestion.

Today, my main motive for exercise is purity and productivity. By purity, I mean being a more loving person (as Jesus said, “love your neighbor,” Matthew 22:39). By productivity, I mean getting a lot done (as Paul said, “abounding in the work of the Lord,” 1 Corinthians 15:58). In short, I have one life to live for Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:15). I don't want to waste it. My approach is not mainly to lengthen it, but to maximize purity and productivity now.
—John Piper

We can never start too early, and we can never start too late. My father is 88 years old, and he hates the monotony and misery of working out as much as I do. (I’m going to go ahead and blame my bad attitude toward exercise on him!) Nevertheless, my dad alternates between his elliptical and treadmill for 30 minutes a few times every week. He’s faithful (most of the time) to his reasonable and individualized workout regimen because he wants to be there for his kids, grandkids and friends for as long as he can.

So, I have two questions for you today. First, will you join me in praying and listening for God’s voice on this crucial topic? Second, will you pray for me, my friend, for my will and fortitude in pursuing health and regular exercise? Please know that I am praying for you.

We’re in this together, my friend, and I am very grateful for that.

Editor-at-Large, Rapt Interviews & Loop for Women
Co-executive Director, Gather Ministries