Faith, Hope, and Love
Faith, Hope, and Love
Sometimes when our mind is busy fighting the distractions that are on our way, we lose focus on the faithfulness of God, who will take care of all of the things we need; Peter said, “Cast all your care upon God for He cares for you.” (1Peter 5:7). Submission comes with confidence in the LORD, James said; “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
We can inspire others by how they see us walk by faith; they may improve the aspect of their lives, how Hope added strength to our faith, and the confidence that brings us to a great expectation that God has promised God will fulfill. The gift of salvation comes from God’s grace through faith; faith is our stronghold to secure a firm position to gain entrance to the kingdom. We hope for that entrance, and this entire thing will happen because of the Love of God.
Faith without Hope is insufficient; we need existence to fulfill what we hope for. We can enjoy all the spiritual gifts we have: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord, but what good would it bring if we do not have the fruits to share our gladness?
All humans are created equal in the eyes and Love of God. Even though we are not directly made, we are the by-product of His creation, and there is no doubt that the image, which is His shadow, bears witness to that creation, and the likeness of God, which is His Spirit, continues to give life, and that include the fruits of His Spirit.
How do we know that we have all those Spiritual gifts? How do we share something that we don’t know that we have? How can we share the fruit when we do not see it is ready to harvest? How do we know that the sharing of the fruit will be accepted? Who is who to give? Are we going to wait for them to approach us? Or we approach them? Many questions can be asked, but the only answer is God will guard your heart and your mind. We must remember that the fruit we share will last forever, like when Jesus Christ told the Samaritan woman that the water he would give her would not make her thirsty again.
Who do you think will reject you with fruit that will never get rotten; allow the Spirit to control your thoughts, and your actions will be fruitful and plenty that God will send you the chosen and called to enjoy the fruit of His Spirit, which is Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law—Galatians 5:22-23. In 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul says, “Three things will last forever: faith, Hope, and love-and. The greatest of these is Love.”
Faith has its purpose, so Hope and Love in human lives, and we cannot have faith without Hope and Love, which are embedded in us, will bring these two together. Trust in God and hope to acquire a spiritual gift depend on the desire to pursue it, and God saw that in our hearts. God will not deny when we ask, but we need to trust Him, on His time and His ways, and with His Love, there is an assurance we will have it; it may not be on our comfort, though.
Faith will describe what we are and who we are to the Father, and the Father will let us know who he is to us; though God has everything, there is still something He needs from us; faith in His existence. Faith will strengthen and lead us to continue seeking Him, and He will passionately reward us. Hebrew 11:6 and Isaiah state, “Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” “declares the Lord.” “These are the ones I look on with favor: humble and contrite in Spirit and tremble at my word. Isaiah 66:2 (NIV)
The primary purpose of Hope is to support faith, faith alone without the work of Hope which the desire for things to happen, an expectation, and, at times is, a bloated feeling with the certainty of things to come. Faith is the belief in something that exists, while Hope is a belief in things to come; therefore, faith leads the way in conjunction with Hope to find Love. Hope to keep our faith flourishing and our joy while patiently waiting. As the saying goes, “at the end of the rainbow, there’s a pot of gold,” and we will find the answer to all these certainties at the end of our journey. Faith keeps us together, Hope keeps us moving, and Love keeps us seeking.
The purpose of Love in our lives is to be the center of joy and should only be focused on the Love that was given to us; Love has boundaries, and too much of it can turn into possession that can lead to poisoning the mind. On the other hand, Love is an emotion that could also inspire us to do good things, Love is a charity where you think of the welfare of others, but most of all, we know that God is Love and His grace made humanity continue to exist. However, we all sinned and are short of His glory; his Love and mercy endure almost in our lifetime.
The Father is the only source of faithful Love, and He wants us to be like Him. “For God so love the world that He sent His only Son our Lord, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have an everlasting life” What more do we need to prove that the Love of God is immeasurable that even a dot of His great Love we do not have. Though there is a condition to love the Son, the choice remains in us. Paul said that the greatest of all spiritual gifts is Love. There is nothing more straightforward than that. 1 Corinthians 13:13.
Faith means trust and confidence in things we hope for; we are sure of things to come. Though we have not seen it yet, it will surely come. Our Hope strengthens our faith made us ponder that Love is all into it. Love is the foundation of the creation of the earth and everything in it, and by faith, all were made, formed, and created by God’s command— some of the things that were not seen, understood, and had no knowledge before are now revealed or unveiled. The beauty of being loved is the assurance that things will surely come; the invisible will be visible to the naked human eyes.
“Now that we know that we have passed from death to life because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.” (my emphasis added) 1 John 3:14 (NIV). While in John 13:34-35 it says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. “By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”
Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
ABEL— Because of his faith, he made a better sacrifice than his brother Cain and God saw his righteousness and accepted his offering.
ENOCH— Because of his faith, he pleased God, and God did not let him experience death and brought him to the eternal world
NOAH— Through faith, he built an ark that saves his household and continues the purpose of God to humanity. His righteousness made way for humankind to multiply.
ABRAHAM— By faith, Abraham obeyed God to go out to a place he had no idea about and later occupied and became the settlement of his people. Though ignorant of his destination, he followed the will of God.
SARAH— By faith, she gave birth to a child far beyond the age of childbearing. One righteous man started a race with a promise.
The faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph; inherited the promised blessing given to Abraham; by faith, Isaac gave Jacob and Esau his gift; it was by faith that Jacob blessed each of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and by faith, Joseph on his dying moment gave confident orders about the disposal of his body. All these heroes of faith pass the blessing according to the promise to Abraham’s seed and heirs.
Moses— By faith, he led the exodus from Egypt; he defied the visible king and obeyed the invisible king; Moses kept his people’s firstborn untouched during the Passover. By faith, the people walked through the parting Red Sea, and the Egyptian soldiers who were chasing them drowned.
Rahab— By faith in the true God, she welcomed the Israelites in capturing the city by betraying her people, and by faith and obedience to God’s command, the walls of Jericho collapsed.
Knowing all stories of the heroes of faith will inspire all the seekers of truth. Religion has never-ending stories like Gideon; from thousands of possible soldiers, he only chose 300 to fight the enemies; it is not the more, the better, but God that delivered him. Barak lost credibility over a woman and yet one of the heroes of faith listed. And the list goes on and on Samson, David, Samuel, and the prophets and the unknown faith heroes whose names are listed in the book of life will never be forgotten, and God knows who they are. God’s promises are still in effect.
When faith and Hope work together, Love is in the midst of it. How excellent Love is when you understand the purpose, share it, and you will be glad you did because the return is much bigger Love. Thank you for your guidance and revelation, oh God our Father, the mighty Son our brother, and the Holy Spirit that unites us. Amen.