The Greatest of These

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

These are the planks upon which Christianity stands: Faith—When everything else falls apart, faith sustains us—faith that God loves us, faith that God is in control. Hope—Hope is the anticipation of a good ending. When everything around us looks bleak and hopeless, how is it that Christians can have such a joyful outlook and hope for the future? It’s because we have the Guidebook. We know the end of the story.

**Heaven and earth may pass away, but faith, hope, and love will remain.

Love—Paul said, “The greatest of these is love.” The heart of the Christian gospel is love. We are called to love God supremely and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. That is the essence of the Christian message. God wants us to know and to offer the agape love described in this chapter: “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8). These are the three planks upon which Christianity rests. Though everything else may cease, these three will abide. In fact, heaven and earth may pass away, but these will remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Father, we ask for faith, that we would believe You. We ask for hope, that we would wait for Your promises. And we ask for love, that we might give to others what You have given us. In Jesus’ name, amen.