Now Abides

I Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

To say these three things abide refers to something that stays. These now abide; they stay.  This passage has been used for many poems and songs, but it is far more.  Why did the Lord put this specific scripture on my heart this time of year?  These three things are what the world is in most need of. These are the greatest yearnings. And these three are the surest of possibilities.

Faith is something to believe in.  Even with the outlook as bleak as it is, we can have hope.  We all need to feel loved and to share and give it.  Many people wonder if there is any left. However life treats us or what we’re forced to face, these things that seem scarce are the ones that really matter.

Our ancestors had a harder time physically and financially, but they had faith.  In the leanest of Christmases when I was growing up, faith was there.  We had faith in the Lord and in each other.  There was not a great deal to look forward to, but hope caused us to still believe in God.  I didn’t have to ask if I was loved.  I knew it.

There is a void of faith, hope and love.  Here Paul draws attention to it.  The summation of Christmas and Christianity is here.  It was given with the coming of Jesus.  When all else fails, these three abide.  At the end of chapter 12 Paul wrote for us to strive for the best gifts, the ones that satisfy in the midst of unhappiness and dissatisfaction.  He drives it home further by saying above all, the greatest is love.  It’s not just written or said, but its love that is visible.  Without these three Christianity is nothing.  With them, it is everything.  They are gifts through and by Jesus Christ. We have someone to believe in, to trust in, when we can’t trust in anyone else. We have hope for a better tomorrow.  When all other avenues fail, Jesus is still here.  He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.

We have these three. They continue to abide. They are real and present.  It’s not a matter of one day. Our faith is active because of Jesus. We have reason to believe because Jesus is here. We have a faith that doesn’t require sight.  We experience it. It blesses our soul.  Faith abides because Jesus does.

Hope abides.  We know the value of saying “if the Lord wills.”  Because of Jesus, we have hope.  Trusting Jesus may not get us our personal agendas. It’s a “me-me-world.” This can end in frustration when what we want doesn’t happen, but what God wants for us is far better.  Hebrews says God provided something better.  It was beyond the comprehension of Mary and Joseph, and the shepherds and wise men.  It was beyond Herod. They all knew something wonderful happened but didn’t realize the whole of it.  Through Jesus we can always have faith. We always have something to hope in. The coming year may be worse for us in some ways, but he’ll be there.

Of all things possible in the world, the three that are thought as the least possible are the most possible. Why stop hoping when Jesus is still on his throne? It’s more than possible to keep believing. Keep hoping, and we can always have and give love.  We can still have all three.

What about your faith, your hope, your love? These three abide. There is no reason for us not to stick around.  I want to continue to love and have hope and faith.  Jesus makes it possible.  Faith was materialized in the flesh when Jesus came.  Hope  became touchable.  Love was personified when Jesus came.  All we’ll ever need we have in Jesus because these three still abide, and ever will.