1 Corinthians 13:13
As it is, these remain: faith, hope and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love.
I am been thinking about these 3 words for a month time now, seeking to understand what it truly mean from a perspective of Christian living. Faith, Hope & Love are very simple English words that I believe everyone knows what it means, but for me , how to connect it to the Christian life, it is truly a hard nut to crack. Usually, things that are simple are the hardest thing to do. These 3 words summarizes what a meaningful life should consists of.
I first saw these 3 words painted on a church building.I thought it was cute at first. Pun intended, it solely means that a the house (building) is build upon the foundations of faith , hope and love as its pillar. It got me thinking!! Can our lives be built by these 3 simple words?!
Now, where did I find the answer to these questions?? It came from the most unexpected situation and timing.
My friend, a non-Christian invited me to a dinner by a local church nearby since she has an extra dinner ticket and does not want to "waste" it. I was hesitant to go since I wanted to go to the gym and did not know anyone from that church, and I was going to eat for free (very "paiseh") on some church occasion that I had no idea what they are celebrating. Christmas is still a few weeks to go, so cannot be Christmas celebration. And she also no idea what the event is all about. Lol.
After a few times/rounds of persuasions, I decided to go since people ask politely. When I arrived, I got to know that the church was celebrating its anniversary 30th years after its foundation. From the pamphlet, I know that the church started with just 5 people!! Now it has grown to like at least ~300 people (my rough estimation) & a few branches. Wow!!
So there was this sermon during the dinner that caught my attention: The theme was Faith, Hope & Love!! Wow, such timing even though they could have given a sermon on the history of how they grow the church , etc. I DON't believe in such coincidences to be the result of randomity. There is a lot of things that happened in my life that cannot be random but truly a nudging from GOD. (I say nudging because a lot of these events happened after I hesitantly do it after much persuasion. Example, I followed my friend to lunch at a far-far place even though I was not interested to travel long distance, because I was tired that day. And because of that I meet two VERY interesting new friends by accident. Maybe I will blog about this a few years down the road and see what has LORD has in store for me )
The sermon by the Pastor, explain about the meaning of each word! Below is just my summary. I am just a layman, so below is my layman summary.
Faith - Faith in GOD, our Lord & Savior.
Hope - The believe in the expectation that the future would be good. GOD will always be there for us and provide good things for us.
Love - Love is the greatest of them all because GOD so love the world that he sent his only SON to die for our sins. And he will always love us even though we think we are un-worthy and sinful in our lifes.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
And so, I got the answer I was looking for: at the place I most un-expected. As I got older, I think I am beginning to understand better the Christian doctrines an the expected way of life as compared when I was baptised when I was a teenager. I am not sure why nowadays, I keep thinking about my faith, perhaps regarding my mortality (my cholesterol levels is not a so nice number) on earth?!
Or just because "coincidentally", my church kick-started off the Year of Faith this past few weeks ago.
Always Inquire of the LORD,
Kris
This words about faith Hope and Love remembered me of them! thank you. blesses.