Faith, Hope and Love
"And now these three remain,
faith, hope and love." 1 Corinthians 13:13 Faith, hope, and love, are the only things that have the power to change your
heart. They are the only things that are eternal. It is easier to understand
exactly what hope is by first examining hopelessness.
What is life without hope? How often is the word “hope” used? For instance, I hope that I pass that
test. We hope that we can beat that
undefeated team. I hope that I wake up
on time tomorrow for that big day…all we have is hope? Can that be, is that it? Or is there more to life than just hope? Why are we born with this predisposition of
right and wrong? Why do we have this
preconceived notion of the heart and sensitivity toward an infant who is
defenseless or toward the person who is the victim and not toward the
aggressor? I want you to go back and
think about the last time you needed hope in your life. Was it a time of desperation, or a time for
no other lead but for hope?
What do Faith, Hope and Love have
in common? The answer is complex, yet
very simple. They are the only things
that our eternal in this life. Besides
our creator, God and the beings that he created, what else is eternal? Faith, Hope and Love are more than just
emotions, they are a life-song. Suppose
you have a relative or a dear loved one who is sick and/or seriously hurt. Suppose the doctors cannot answer what the
cause is or if the diagnosis will be treatable.
Suppose that they can treat the ailment, but they may have this disease
or this disorder for the rest of their life- what then? Clearly, there has to be more than just the
fact that we were born, that we will live a certain time on this earth and then
we die and as ashes to ashes we are no more.
What then, where do we go? Is
there more? There has to be more because
we would not be hard-wired with the heart that we have. We would not be tied to the emotions that we
have, nor would we care about the littlest details in our life.
I have faith that God created
me. I have faith that God is in control
of this life and this world and that in the end every knee shall bow and every
tongue shall confess. I have hope that
God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten son, Jesus, who was born
of a virgin and lived a perfect life on this earth and shared and suffered as
he was both God and man. I believe that
he was crucified on the cross as an innocent man and that he paid the price at
Calvary for my sin and yours. I have
faith and hope that he rose again on the third day and conquered death. I have faith and hope (Romans 10) that because
I believe this that my name is written in the book of life.
So where is love? God so loved the world (Agape love) that he
gave his only Son for you and me. I love
that a God, who created me, would want a relationship with me and that he was
willing to send his son, a perfect lamb, as a sin offering to be in my place
for a death and punishment that I deserve.
That is what I would call no holds barred kind of love. Love takes hope and faith and wraps it into
meaning and understanding and gives you security to know that God is real and
he is the one who gave us these three eternal emotions.
This past Saturday, my wife was
taken to the hospital for a life-threatening disorder that we are still trying
to diagnose. They believe that have the
cause to what happened to the kidney and the muscle tissue, but they are not
certain to the connection to the liver and what is causing the breakdown in
muscle and why the liver is highly elevated.
This is the point that some would reach despair. Some would argue as to why bad things happen
to good people. I always find that
statement as very thought provoking, because when you say good people are we
comparing ourselves to other lower life forms here on earth or are we trying to
make a comparison to God and suggest that we are good enough to measure up to
his goodness? In either case, I am
speechless and I am full of tears as I look at my 5 year old son, my three year
old daughter and my 21 month old daughter and trying to love them and provide
for them and to take care of their every need.
I am emotionally bankrupt. I have given everything to my three children
and all of my hope and prayers and tears to my God. To my redeemer I say that there is nothing
impossible with Him. I have asked the
Holy Spirit to intercede for me with my needs and my desires. I do not know where this medical case is
going or where life will take us, but I do know this- Our God reigns and His
love is more than enough. I hope that he
will answer my prayers. I have faith
that his will be done and I have love that nothing will ever separate me from
God’s love and that because of his great, miraculous gift (His son Jesus) that
whenever my time on this earth is through, that I will be in heaven on my knees
confessing that He is God and His will be done.
My heart hurts, my eyes are sore from tears and my body aches from the
heaviness of the unknown. However, I
know that my Father in Heaven will provide for all that I need. That his hope, faith and love in me is all
that I will ever need and that the wife and children that he has blessed me
with will be with me for all the days of my life.
Oh Lord, Oh Lord how majestic is
your name in all the Earth. Oh Lord, Oh
Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth. Oh Lord, we praise your name, Oh Lord, we
magnify your name. Prince of peace, mighty
God, Oh Lord our God, Almighty (Psalms 8- a song of Psalms).
