The Apostle Paul carried the banner
theme of "faith, hope and love" everywhere
he went. We mostly recognise this as if
it were the refrain of the 1 Corinthians
"Love Chapter":
1 Corinthians 13:3
And now these three remain: faith,
hope and love. But the greatest of these
is love.
This trifecta of both the evidence of
Holy Spirit living in his people and the
tools of his ministry through them shows
up again in...
1 Thessalonians 1:3
We continually remember before our
God and Father your work produced by
faith, your labor prompted by love, and
your endurance inspired by hope in our
Lord Jesus Christ.
What an amazingly simple yet profound
explanation of the dynamic relationship
between faith and works! Theologians
should kneel at this: "We continually remember
before our God and Father your work produced by
faith". Faith is what causes works to happen/
exist. It is the "let there be" of the heart's
intention to serve the Lord.
Next, "your labor prompted by love". I suppose
if one were to ask, "What is the distinction
between the purpose of faith and love?", I would
say that faith is all about strategy, a strategic
vision that comes from the energizing Holy Spirit
to produce works in the Christian walk. On the
other hand, love is about tactics--the constant,
step-by-step working out of the love of Jesus
which accompanies every work. Faith pleases God;
(Hebrews 11:6), love exhibits the God-live within
the favor we have because of faith.
Finally, this: "your endurance inspired by hope
in our Lord Jesus Christ". The Michael W. Smith
song, "This is the air I breath" is inspiring.
I get it: "Your holy presence, living in me."
But, for this to constantly ring true, it behooves
me to continually recognise that the presence of
the Lord, as a "natural consequence", engenders hope:
unfabricated, real hope. I--we recognise the
ongoing validity of this hope, because we do not
wear out. We endure.
Not a put-on. We can say, "Hope exists
where the rubber meets the road." It is a sustaining
inspiration that encourages us to serve the Lord
wholeheartedly. Yes, that is supposed to be a norm
for the Christian. Yet, I sense that I sometimes hold back,
because I am subconsciously "counting the cost" like a
scout seeking out a comfort zone.
Hope does come at a cost, and this is not a popular notion amidst
the easy "God wants you to have a wonderful life" that
needles its way into contemporary Christian (Church and
para-church) thinking. There is a cure for this, and
it is more of a tool of reckoning than for assuaging:
Isaiah 43:22
Yet you have not called
upon me, O Jacob,
you have not wearied
yourselves for me,
O Israel.
Wearying ourselves for the Lord--this sounds drab,
boring, self-castigating. Yet, I do not believe
that is God's intention for us. Rather, there is
a life of being a follower of Jesus in which we
are at times stretched to the point where we have
expended ourselves and are in need of refreshing.
We can have hope all along this path wherein we
could be figuratively, perhaps literally, weary to the
bone. God is with us.
We, of course, should be very careful of how we think about
and convey this. Children should not be exposed
to the totally unvarnished part about this, because
for one thing, they are not emotionally ready to
suffer when necessary. This is not an age-dependent
thing. Discernment is needed here as to when to be
so honest with the ones we raise. I think about
C.S. Lewis' caution about how we should carefully
describe Jesus' crucifixion to children.
The Apostle Paul helps put all this into proper
perspective:
Philippians 4:12-13
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I
know what it is to have plenty. I have
learned the secret of being content in
any and every situation, whether well
fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or
in want.
13 I can do everything through him who
gives me strength.
When a follower of Jesus remains in-tune
with the "everything through him" hope (eschewing
the avoidance of commitment for self-protection's sake),
contentment intuitively tells them that even weariness
cannot throw water on a deep-seated joy in
the Lord. No slap-happiness here. Just the
other-worldly, yet real faith, hope and love
of God.
---------------------
All Scripture text quoted is taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984
by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan. All rights reserved. Italicized and bold text
are mine.
theme of "faith, hope and love" everywhere
he went. We mostly recognise this as if
it were the refrain of the 1 Corinthians
"Love Chapter":
1 Corinthians 13:3
And now these three remain: faith,
hope and love. But the greatest of these
is love.
This trifecta of both the evidence of
Holy Spirit living in his people and the
tools of his ministry through them shows
up again in...
1 Thessalonians 1:3
We continually remember before our
God and Father your work produced by
faith, your labor prompted by love, and
your endurance inspired by hope in our
Lord Jesus Christ.
What an amazingly simple yet profound
explanation of the dynamic relationship
between faith and works! Theologians
should kneel at this: "We continually remember
before our God and Father your work produced by
faith". Faith is what causes works to happen/
exist. It is the "let there be" of the heart's
intention to serve the Lord.
Next, "your labor prompted by love". I suppose
if one were to ask, "What is the distinction
between the purpose of faith and love?", I would
say that faith is all about strategy, a strategic
vision that comes from the energizing Holy Spirit
to produce works in the Christian walk. On the
other hand, love is about tactics--the constant,
step-by-step working out of the love of Jesus
which accompanies every work. Faith pleases God;
(Hebrews 11:6), love exhibits the God-live within
the favor we have because of faith.
Finally, this: "your endurance inspired by hope
in our Lord Jesus Christ". The Michael W. Smith
song, "This is the air I breath" is inspiring.
I get it: "Your holy presence, living in me."
But, for this to constantly ring true, it behooves
me to continually recognise that the presence of
the Lord, as a "natural consequence", engenders hope:
unfabricated, real hope. I--we recognise the
ongoing validity of this hope, because we do not
wear out. We endure.
Not a put-on. We can say, "Hope exists
where the rubber meets the road." It is a sustaining
inspiration that encourages us to serve the Lord
wholeheartedly. Yes, that is supposed to be a norm
for the Christian. Yet, I sense that I sometimes hold back,
because I am subconsciously "counting the cost" like a
scout seeking out a comfort zone.
Hope does come at a cost, and this is not a popular notion amidst
the easy "God wants you to have a wonderful life" that
needles its way into contemporary Christian (Church and
para-church) thinking. There is a cure for this, and
it is more of a tool of reckoning than for assuaging:
Isaiah 43:22
Yet you have not called
upon me, O Jacob,
you have not wearied
yourselves for me,
O Israel.
Wearying ourselves for the Lord--this sounds drab,
boring, self-castigating. Yet, I do not believe
that is God's intention for us. Rather, there is
a life of being a follower of Jesus in which we
are at times stretched to the point where we have
expended ourselves and are in need of refreshing.
We can have hope all along this path wherein we
could be figuratively, perhaps literally, weary to the
bone. God is with us.
We, of course, should be very careful of how we think about
and convey this. Children should not be exposed
to the totally unvarnished part about this, because
for one thing, they are not emotionally ready to
suffer when necessary. This is not an age-dependent
thing. Discernment is needed here as to when to be
so honest with the ones we raise. I think about
C.S. Lewis' caution about how we should carefully
describe Jesus' crucifixion to children.
The Apostle Paul helps put all this into proper
perspective:
Philippians 4:12-13
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I
know what it is to have plenty. I have
learned the secret of being content in
any and every situation, whether well
fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or
in want.
13 I can do everything through him who
gives me strength.
When a follower of Jesus remains in-tune
with the "everything through him" hope (eschewing
the avoidance of commitment for self-protection's sake),
contentment intuitively tells them that even weariness
cannot throw water on a deep-seated joy in
the Lord. No slap-happiness here. Just the
other-worldly, yet real faith, hope and love
of God.
---------------------
All Scripture text quoted is taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984
by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan. All rights reserved. Italicized and bold text
are mine.
