Faith, Hope and Love

I remember a few years ago, Gram and I were discussing I Corinthians 13:13. And now abideth faith, hope, charity (love), these three, but the greatest of these is charity (love). I always wondered why love would be greater than hope or faith. To me, it seemed that each one had an equally important status. I understand that God is love, so maybe that’s why love topped the list of the things that “now abide”. Gram proceeded to explain what that verse meant to her, and I’ve never read it the same way again.

Gram took the verse word by word. The first word that “now abides” is faith. Gram explained that faith is necessary “now”, because we walk by faith, not by sight (I Cor 5:7). We are saved by faith - And He (Jesus) said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace (Luke 7:50). Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is necessary, and even the tangible substance of things to come, as well as evidence of things we can’t just point out in our natural world. If you think of today’s justice system, many people can be convicted on “circumstantial evidence”. This evidence paints a picture of something that happened, and people can confidently come to a conclusion based on that evidence. The same concept is written about faith – it is evidence of things not (yet) seen.

Finally, Hebrews 12:2a speaks of Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… Faith will have an ending. Jesus is the author of our faith, and he is also the finisher. The day we enter heaven, there will be no more need of faith because For now we see through a glass darkly; but then, face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I am known (I Cor 13:12) When our journey is over, faith will no longer be a necessary part of our relationship with God because we will behold Him in all His glory. We shall see Him just as He is! This is why faith “now” abides.

I excitedly saw where this was going. Gram explained that hope has such an important place in this life, along with faith and love. Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col 1:27b) shows us that hope has a place “now”, so we can be comforted and empowered as we anticipate glory. We also have in our spiritual warfare, a helmet, the hope of salvation (I Thes 5:8) Salvation is something that we have hope in, as something that will come to pass, although we are already saved if we are believers. Again, in Titus 1:2, Paul speaks of hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. Now abides hope, but hope will reach it’s destination someday, along with faith. Faith and hope propel us along in our Christian walk as we believe the things we have not yet seen.

Like faith and hope, love also “now abides”, but that’s only part of love’s story. There will be no ending, so even though love is now, it always has been and always will be. One of Gram’s favorite verses, Jeremiah 31:3, states, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore, with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. God often speaks of love as everlasting, timeless and ageless. The powerful verses in Romans (8:38,39) say that nothing, not even death or time itself, can separate us from the love of God, through Christ – For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Love truly is everlasting.

Every time I read I Corinthians 13:13, I realize that faith has the power to save us, hope has the power to sustain us, but love is the greatest of all, because love transcends all time, past, present and future, and the love of God is the reason faith and hope exist! Faith and hope will accompany us in this life and see us safely to the other side, and once there, we will bask in the love of God for all eternity!