Jump Start # 3583

1 Corinthians 13:13 “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Within the context of this passage is a major contrast. The spiritual gifts were coming to an end. This is as God intended. Prophecy, tongues, and special knowledge were all coming to an end. They would cease. They would cease, but faith, hope and love abide. Some things would end. Other things would continue.

Faith, hope and love—those three seem to be God’s special ingredients that are sprinkled upon all the principles of God. Faith, hope and love are the substance of the life of our Lord. Jesus lived a life of faith. Jesus was the hope of the world. Jesus loves. Faith, hope and love.

These three, faith, hope and love seem to be progressive in nature. Faith produces love which leads to hope. These three also work together to prevent troubles. Faith prevents fear and worry. The greater our faith the less we worry. Love prevents selfishness and stinginess. Love leads to generosity. Love thinks of others. Hope prevents the negative, gloomy spirit.

Without faith, we cannot move forward with God. Without faith, religion becomes shallow, empty and a farce. Faith sounds true as much in the darkness as it does in the sunshine. Faith gave young David the confidence as he ran toward that massive giant. Faith gave old Daniel the courage when he was thrown into a lion’s den. Faith was the fuel that kept the beaten apostle Paul going. Faith is first and foremost in our relationship with God. We know because we believe. We act because we believe. We trust because we believe. We need to teach the young the reasons why we believe. Evidence. We need to remind the older ones not to give up when the journey seems so long.

Without love, our work becomes duty. When duty bound, we attend worship not because we want to, but because we have to. We pray, not because we want to, but because we are supposed to. Guilt drives a loveless faith. The Ephesians lost their first love. They were still worshipping. They were still standing for what was right, but love no longer was the mechanism within them. There are many today who have a faith that stands upon guilt. The next step, although never achievable, is perfection. Don’t miss a worship service. Don’t eat without a prayer. Don’t forget a step. Don’t neglect a duty. The loveless heart lacks joy and appreciation. Never doing enough. Never content. Never happy. Never. Never. Never.

Without hope, we give up. Hope believes the future can be better. Hope pushes through the greatest pain and the darkest of troubles. Hope combined with faith, believes God is still there. Hope with faith knows that God will help.

If we could write out God’s recipe for success, it would simply be faith, hope and love. It’s not just one, but all three. We need love, but we also need hope and we cannot survive without faith. Think about how many church troubles and family issues could be solved with a whole bunch of faith, hope and love. The burdens seem greater when faith, hope and love are running low.

There is something special about God’s recipe of faith, hope and love.

First, these three are in reach of every person. Not everyone gets physics. Not everyone can identify an oak tree. Not everyone can travel the ocean blue. Not everyone can go to college. But everyone can have faith in God and everyone can love the Lord and one another and everyone can have the hope of God’s promises. Those in Corinth who had a storied past and were divided, could have faith, hope and love. Those in the small villages of Europe in the 1200s could have faith, hope and love. And, today, in our fast paced, social media driven times, we can have faith, hope and love. And, when we don’t, not only will it be manifest in hurt relationships, but the fault lies with us. There is no reason we cannot do these things.

Second, with all the culture problems plaguing our times, faith, hope and love would cure most of them. Hatred, racism, prejudice, violence and self-righteousness don’t do well in heart of faith, hope and love. Our times do not need more laws, more rules, more politicians telling us what to do. What we need is faith, hope and love.

Third, while we cannot impart, nor mandate these upon others, we can hold them dear to our hearts. Within us we can be models of faith, hope and love. This can our lights in the world. Through us, we believe when others doubt. Through us we can have hope when others are hopeless. Through us we can manifest love when others would rather hate.

Faith, hope, love—God’s big three.

Roger

Jump Start # 2621

1 Corinthians 13:13 “But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

I have what I call an archive room. It’s filled with old periodicals, books and files, mostly about the restoration movement. On the walls are framed several old journals and pictures. Lately, I have been assembling a new project to be framed and put on the walls, old sermons. Not mine. Definitely, not mine. But from preachers long ago, many of whom have passed from this place to the next. I found a file of handwritten sermons belonging to a preacher who has been dead for more than sixty years. One file contained dozens of handwritten sermons all on the subject of love. God’s love for us. How we are to love. Love this way. Love that way. I had never seen so many sermons on that one topic.

All of that took me to our verse today. The greatest of these is love. Love is greater than hope. Love is greater than faith. Had God not said that, I probably would have changed that order in my mind. I expect that I’d put faith at the top of the list. Of the three, I think hope would come next. Love is important, and God is love, however, not greater than faith and hope. That’s the way I would put it. But, thankfully, we don’t have to put these in an order. God already has. Love is at the top. Love comes first.

Why does love come before faith? If we do not believe, we will be lost. Jesus rebuked the disciples multiple times for not having faith. I don’t remember any time He got on them for not having love.

Let’s put some thought to this:

First, this love is not an emotion or a feeling. This is not romance. The King James uses the word ‘charity’ for love. We understand charity. Donations, comes to our mind. Charity is one way. We do not donate with the idea of getting something in return. Charity is not purchasing something. It is giving something away. And, why does someone donate or get involved with charities? Because they care. That is the heart of this word ‘love.’ It is to care. God cares about you. God loves you. This word is expressed in actions. God so loves you that He sent Jesus. God’s care, God’s love, led Him to do something. But, more than that, we care about ourselves. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t care if we were saved or lost. But we do care. That love that we find in God causes us to listen, believe and there comes faith.

Second, love causes a person to make changes. If you realize that your eating habits is leading to an early death, you would make adjustments. No salt. Cut down on the sugar. Back off the sodas. Why would a person do that? Because they care. They love. Spiritually, love leads us to making changes. We repent. We put on Christ. We think differently. We toss out attitudes that are sinful and wrong. We learn to transform our hearts and become molded in the way that Jesus wants. Love will do that.

Third, love will want to worship and honor God. When one sees how much God cares and loves him, worship becomes a blessing and a privilege. God is so good to us. Love will humble our hearts, bow our heads and praise the Lord of Heaven and Earth. God has been there during storms, dark valleys, and dark nights. God has been there when we were afraid. God has been there when we were worried. God has been there when we were uncertain. Faith trusts, but love cares.

Fourth, love will open our eyes to others. Love will lead us to forgive and apologize. Love will cause us to share the Gospel message of Christ to others. Love will turn us into servants, who want to help others. Love will have us praying for others, even our enemies. Love isn’t bound by oceans, borders, race, or differences. Love wishes all to excel and do well. Love eliminates hatred and prejudice. Love sees the best and through love, hope is built.

Without love, what is worship? Just a tradition or a ritual. Songs that are not believed. Prayers that are not heartfelt. Empty. Cold. Lifeless. Poor Ephesus left their first love in Revelation. That first love must be Christ. Nothing is greater than a love for the Lord. That is the motivation for all that we do. This is why we go out of our way. This is why we don’t grow weary. This is why never quit. Our love for the Lord is strong, rich and unending.

And, what is so remarkable about this love is that God loved us when we were not loveable. Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners. We hadn’t stopped. We hadn’t changed. We hadn’t reformed. Not yet. God loves us, even when we were unlovable. Yet, God has always been lovable. God has never had any bad moments. God has never had to apologize. God never made a mistake. God never sinned.

What a contrast: God loves us when we were not very lovable and we are to love Him when He is always lovable. God is the definition of love. And, the greatest of these three is love. Love is greater than hope. Love is greater than faith. Love is the greatest.

And, if we truly love, or care, then we will be mindful of the way we worship, the way we talk, and the way we treat others. Our actions show that we care or love.

Roger