Faith, hope & love

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love”~1 Cor 13:13

All three virtues are valuable and essential, but the greatest is still love. I wonder if it could probably be something to do with the effects that love has on us. Compared to faith & hope, love has the wider influence in the world as it is what brings about unity in our diverse community today. It not only unites us with God, but also unites all of us, human beings, as a family. As such, we see love being the most fundamental element that enables us to enter into the very nature of God’s kingdom, bringing all of His creation into a harmonious blend.

Although faith, hope and love may co-exist with one another, faith & hope are perhaps only more helpful in building up individual needs, serving only one man’s interests. On the other hand, love encourages us to take care of one another’s needs, taking into consideration other people’s interest and to put others’ desire above our own. This is how we are to live, loving everyone with a sacrificial love with no boundaries attached, but much sincerity wrapped around it.

Nonetheless, be careful, for the devil is a clever one. He tries to stop us from loving each other and God with his deceptive ways. He haunts us with our past, reminding us of our failures and shortcomings, and he makes us question about the future till all the uncertainties start clouding our hearts with worries.

Perhaps that’s why we need the essence of faith & hope co-existing with love as well. Faith takes care of our past for we know that our sins are forgiven; we no longer need to be ashamed of our past. Hope secures us of our future because we know where we’re heading to. Thus, if we’re no longer haunted by the past and not worried about the future, that leaves us with love in the present. And that’s exactly what we’re commanded to do- love God and His people.

God wants us to enjoy the sweetness of every moment we have in life. We may not know what will happen in the future, but that’s OK for we know for sure that the living hope of God is true and certain. He’s here with us, right here, right now, and that’s all that matter. It’s the now that He’s concerned about. And so, let’s continue to let our hearts remain in love and mind in faith & hope that is cemented in His Word, shall we?