Today’s Scripture
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
In his conclusion to this most beautiful poem, Paul concludes by establishing a contrast between the gifts he’s previously mentioned and now, faith, hope and love. Those mentioned earlier are temporal, earth-bound, they will pass away when the Lord returns. What Paul is assuring us is faith, hope and love will abide, they are eternal.
Paul is very careful to instruct us firmly that the greatest of these gifts is love. Why is that? The first reason is because faith and the resulting hope are rooted in love. Love for the Lord begets faith through grace from the Holy Spirit. The second reason is because faith benefits ourselves, love is beneficial to others. We have only to see Christ on the cross to understand beneficial sacrificial love.
Daily Meditation:
Am I working daily to grow in faith by grace and love by neighbor as myself, giving of myself as Christ gave of himself?
Prayer:
“Lord, grant me the grace to see opportunity to love sacrificially today, and the faith to act on it. Amen.
Patrick is a member of Pleasant Grove Reformed Church, a native Texan
and a father of three. As an author, when he is not writing, he works in the oil & gas industry.