Faith, Hope, & Love

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. 

But the greatest of these is love. 

1 Corinthians 13:13

Hi Friends,
Today, I'm focusing on 1 Corinthians 13:13. This chapter is familiar to many of us. Many people refer to it as the love chapter. In chapter 12, Paul spoke of spiritual gifts. And he followed that chapter with a chapter on love to point out that if these gifts are practiced without godly love, they are worthless. The Corinthians were proud of their spiritual gifts. Paul wanted to remind them that the way of love is more important. 

The point of 1 Cor 13:1-3 is that what we do is not eternally meaningful if it is not done in love. If we are just going through the motions, or just doing what we’re “supposed” to do, we need to stop and re-evaluate. Our hearts need to be in the right place. God knows our hearts. And He wants us not just serving others, but lovingly serving others.

When I read 1 Cor 13:4-8, I see Christ’s love through and through. It is an amazing love that we can all strive for, but again, cannot achieve without the Holy Spirit. I pray often that God would help me see others through His eyes and help me to love them as He does. Prayer is so important- not only praying for the people we are trying to love, but praying for ourselves that God will help us love them. So don’t forget to pray!

Verse 13 says that faith, hope, and love remain. What that's speaking to is that the spiritual gifts the Corinthians were priding themselves in were temporary. But faith, hope, and love are eternal. Faith is an essential part of Christianity. Hope is a conviction that God will keep His promises. And all things need to be done in love. God is love, so that is central to following Jesus. 1 Cor 13:13 says the greatest is love. Why? The following came from the notes section in my Jeremiah Study Bible, "Why is love the greatest of these? When Christ makes all things new and His followers are ushered into the eternal state, faith will no longer be necessary because the redeemed will see face to face. Hope will no longer be necessary because their hope will have been perfectly realized. But love will remain, and it will finally be known without the taint of sin." Love without the taint of sin. That’s Jesus love.

Page Details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: County Fair Alpha, The Good News, Made New, Filigree Hearts, Psalm 23 Background, Texture Tiles 1.



 Have a blessed week! Andrea