LEARNING DAILY

 

1 Corinthians 13:13, And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest is love.

 

1 Corinthians 13 is known for explaining what love is and what love is not. It is clear from this chapter that God desires His followers to be Christlike in character more than everything else we do. From this chapter we can see that “He values and emphasizes character that acts in love, patience (v. 4), kindness (v. 4), unselfishness (v. 5), hatred for evil and love for the truth (v. 6), honesty (v. 6), and endurance in righteousness (v. 7) much more than faith to move mountains or to perform great achievements in the church (vv. 1-2, 8, 13)” (LSSB).

 

In the verse above, Paul tells the followers of Christ they must walk on the narrow way in faith, in hope, and in love. Without reading or knowing the verse, which of the three would you say is the most important, the one that makes the greatest impact on your life? It might be difficult. Without faith, would you place yourself in God’s care, trust him in all things and stay committed to Him in those trials of life? How would you look at your life if you did not have hope? Would life be meaningless to you? Would you become a doubter and a worrier? The notes in the DJSB say this about faith and hope. “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 taint or sin.”

 

Go back and read chapter 13! Take time and read it! When you do, you will see that everything Paul writes about comes from love. Without love, we would not have faith and hope because they are found in and come from God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit! Think about the love that the Father has for each of us – He sent His Son to take our place on a cross. Jesus did that willingly because He loves each of us that much. The Holy Spirit brings God’s love to us to each day regardless of our hurts, in our joy and happiness, and regardless of our mixed-up emotions. It is because of love that faith and hope exist in us.

 

Each of us are created in God’s image. When Jesus comes into our lives, we are blessed with His love that helps us to love Him, to love others, and to even love ourselves. That can motivate each of us to love others. Let me add that loving others is not an option for a follower of Jesus Christ! We are to show love to others even when we do not want to do so. Why do we show love to others? It is simply because the Lord Jesus Christ told us to do so. When we do, even when they do not deserve it, our faith and our hope begin to grow with the love you have shown. As we choose to love each day, it will help us to grow in our faith and our hope; doing so will help us stay alert and encouraged regardless of the trials and circumstances we face.

 

May the love of God become a flood in your life and be demonstrated to each person in your life and to all you come into contact with each day!

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.