The last verse of 1 Corinthians 13 has always resounded with me.
1 Cor 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Since love is the greatest, I have worked really hard at being a person who can be characterized by love. I have tried to make decisions based on my love for God and my love for people. I am here in Honduras, because I love the children in this garbage dump. My heart was moved with compassion some years ago, and I felt I needed to come down here and help in anyway I could. Love has been my driving force. Love has been my motivation. I want to love God with all my being and I want to share God’s love with as many people as I can especially those considered ‘poor’. That is my calling. That is point A. I am far from where I should be in terms of love, but of the 3 mentioned in this verse, love is definitely my strength. Love is Point A.
Point B would be hope. Of the 3, it is probably my second best area. Hope is not that hard to have, especially when you read the promises God has for us. Hope is what the future would look like if God had his way. The picture I get when I ask this question is my hope. It is the anchor that I hold onto that keeps me going. Hope is the picture of a world transformed by God’s love. Hope is the image of a people lifted out of poverty. Hope is what I am reaching for. Hope paints the picture of where I want to go. Hope is that in a few years, no children will be living or working in this garbage dump. Hope is that the structures of the garbage dump will not oppress the people but will actually provide for their needs. Hope is that leaders will rise up from this rubble and become the future heroes of Honduras. Hope is that garbage dumps and any other like communities would be transformed all around the world. That is where I want to go. That is Hope. That is point B.
As you can see, I am living at point A. I can see point B, what God wants. But I don’t know how to get there. That is because my major weakness is the last virtue listed in this verse – Faith. Faith is how we get from point A to point B. Faith takes us to what God wants. God has showed us His Will. We know what we should be hoping for. But only faith will get us there. Only faith will make hope a reality. There is no other way. Not through effort. Not through desire. Not through waiting. There is a moment when we are at point A, that we will have to take the first step towards point B. That step is called faith. Faith is the only way.
Unfortunately this is my biggest weakness. I need your help. I need you to help my unbelief. Help me step out in faith. Help me grow in faith. I want to reach point B, and if I can only reach it through faith, then that is what I want.
Faith is evidence of things hoped for.
