Readings Luke 4:20-30. 1 Corinth 13.
Paul’s passage in Corinthians is a favourite reading especially for wedding couples. However Paul is not just writing beautiful prose and that is why the passage ends in a great crescendo with the 3 foundational pillars of the Christian faith. 1Corinth 13:13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Faith hope and love.
1]. Faith opens the door to the possibilities of God as He is!
We have no models or instances of God so imagination builds idols. The Father of our Lord Jesus actually reveals himself and makes God’s self known through the dynamic of faith.
The faith needed is faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith in the sense of trust. “pistis”, from persuasion, i.e. assurance, belief, believe,. Faith is a verb not a noun. having faith brings change.
God calls us to use faith: without faith we miss out on the blessing that God has for us. The first great step of the Christian life is faith.
2] Faith leads us on into hope. Hope gives us confidence in the future and in life. God does not change the circumstances to suit us, but changes us to deal with the circumstances. (He knows best)
Jesus on the cross has fulfilled all God wants from us. God has our life in hand because he cares about us
3]. As hope dawns so does love. Love builds our relationships. Love softens our attitudes towards others as well as ourselves.
Jesus is the one who makes a difference in our lives both as individuals and as a community. If just for an instant we could see what God has done for us, what opportunity he gives to us how much he longs for us then we would love vigorously. Luke 4:21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Here is a choice! So when we use the faith God has given us and we begin to trust him, then life becomes filled with hope and new possibilities, with that confidence we are released to love. As we love we fulfil the life God intended us to live.
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