Faith, Hope, and Love
Faith, Hope, and Love
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:13
If you grew up in church, then you grew up knowing faith, hope, and love are central to the Christian tradition. And obviously, love is the greatest thing ever.
The danger is most followers of Jesus glibly toss the phrase around without unpacking what it means for them, for the Church, or for the world around them.
So I wanted to share what these three things mean to me.
What is faith?
Faith is bold risk in spite of circumstance. It doesn’t deny reality but it doesn’t give it the authority to make the ultimate choice either.
In many ways, faith is trusting that God is going to do what God said God’s going to do.
What is hope?
Hope is the conviction of seeing what’s not yet there. It also doesn’t deny reality but it knows there is more than meets the eye.
In many ways, hope is vision. It helps us see the light when the rest of the world around us is dark.
What is love?
Love is God’s grace in action. It is something we both receive and participate in.
Paul said love is the greatest of these three because it is the ultimate manifestation of both your faith and your hope. It’s what makes the unseen world visible.
Friends, it’s my prayer that you boldly enter into the world and demonstrate your conviction of a world unseen by sharing the grace of God with those around you.
And remember: Keep it simple.
Matt Snyder is the communications director at First Baptist Church of Decatur. You can follow him on Twitter at @matthewlasnyder.