Faith, Hope, Love

A few months ago, I was reading through Colossians, and right away I noticed verses four and five (of chapter one):

4For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and your love for all of God's people, 5which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

They had faith in Christ, and love for people, which came from their hope of all that God had for them. This reminded me of 1 Corinthians 13:13.

13Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love.

These three things are obviously related in some way. I am continually discovering these three terms used in the same context in many parts of the New Testament. So far, this is what I have discovered:

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Heb. 11:1). So that means you can't have faith without hope. After all, if you don't have anything to place your hope in, what good is faith? There would be nothing to have confidence about! In the same way, hope without faith is weak and floundering. Even hope in the right things won't do us much good without at least little confidence. But something glorious happens when you place your hope in the right thing (God and all He has in store for you - Psalm 42:11), and you place your faith in that hope: love is produced. Love is the evidence, the fruit, of these two things combined. Let that sink in for a while. God's Word is fraught with deeper meaning - sometimes it takes a while to wrap your brain around it.

Day 66

Colossians 1:13-14

13For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Day 65

Colossians 1:11-12

11We also pray that you will be strengthened by all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.

And So We Begin Again (Days 58-64)

Hi all! I've been out of the loop for a while now - I just became too busy with work to focus on doing any serious memorizing. I knew this would happen, at least several times during the course of this goal, but I'm still determined to finish. I have been reading a lot of the New Testament lately, a lot of Paul's letters, so I've decided to memorize Colossians. I really love all of Paul's letters. They are all so beautiful, almost poetic in love for his brothers and sisters in Christ, and they are filled with the message of hope, peace, unity in Christ, and joy. His letters have spoken encouragement into my life on many occasions, so I think it's only natural for me to want to memorize them. Paul's letters are full of practical wisdom for everyday living in the Lord, something we all need reminded of as we go about our days. So I'm back on track, memorizing away. I've already worked on it for the past week (and just now decided it was probably time to update my blog). ;) And so we begin again.

Colossians 1:1-10

1This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle in Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. 2We are writing to God's holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace. 3We always pray for you, and give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and your love for all of God's people, 5which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. 6This same Good News which came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God's wonderful grace. 7You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ's faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf. 8He has told us of the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you. 9So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will, and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.