Only These Three Remain

Any of us, if we have been here on the earth long enough, are accustomed to pain, tragedy, rejection, loss and grief.  Trouble and hardship go hand in hand with being alive.  Jesus even promised it - "In this world you will have trouble," he said, "but take heart, I have overcome the world!" (John 16:32-33)

I have been reading the book of John for the past couple of weeks and I finished it today with an obvious change of heart - I had an undeniable sense of hope.  Paul said it too, "Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."  HOPE, they are telling us.  HOPE.  HOPE.

Hope is an incredible power.  Hope reminds you that your life is not aimless.  Hope makes even small events make sense.  It gives us vision when we feel so earthbound and small.  It fills the empty spaces with dreams and a certain future of majesty, perfection, love and beauty.  It truly gives us meaning in a life that can feel meaningless at times.  Truly, who hasn't at some point in life asked themselves, "Why am I here?"  Hope answers that question forever.

But then, as Paul says, "Hope that is seen is no hope at all."  (Romans 8:24)  It takes a great amount of faith to hold onto those dreams of what will be at the end of our lives as we remain faithful to Jesus with all of our hearts.  Faith is the spark to the flame, the gas in our engine.  Without faith we lose our hope and our dreams.

And finally, there is love.  Thankfully for me the Bible defines it for me.  I find particularly helpful the reminder that "if I have a faith that can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:2).  My faith, my service to God, my deeds for my fellow man must spring from love.  I will follow in vain if I follow for any other reason than love.  The three work together in perfect harmony, giving our hearts balance and keeping them reliant on God.

At the end of my life, which could be tomorrow or in 50 years, I will not be able to stand on what I chose for a career, how many friends I had, what my house looked like or even what people thought of me.  The only treasures that will stand the test of time are these:  "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)  Only these three remain.  God greatly treasures these three things.  If I can only take these with me, then I will give these things my attention and strive to grow.  For now, I am basking in the glow of hope.  I have a glorious future ahead!