This ending verse of the “love chapter” used at so many weddings over the years is rich with meaning that we oftentimes miss. We take “faith, hope, and love” in their simplest meanings, but is that what Paul was actually saying will live forever?
Let’s take a quick look into a better understanding of the original language:
FAITH = conviction and belief respecting man’s relation to God and divine things
HOPE = joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation
LOVE = true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us
THESE THREE = these choicest graces
I feel like I could stop here and just read these over and over again until I really wrap my head around them. It brings tears to my eyes to see the depth of these words that we so flippantly toss around.
Do you see how this can change what we mean when we say, “I have faith in you”? See that as, “I have conviction and belief about your relation to God and all His divine things.” OR “I know you are made in God’s image, chosen by Him, and His purposes for you are amazing.”
What about, “I hope you’re well”? Perhaps, “I have joyful and confident expectation that you are secure in your eternal salvation.”
Instead of “I love my family,” we’re saying “I have the truest affection for God and my family that grows out of God’s love for me and in me.”
All words have meaning and we should
learn to use them well.
Scripture tells us that our words carry life or death. When we wield them carelessly, we can wound and even kill. Probably not a physical death, but we can kill someone’s spirit in an instant with the words we speak.
Let’s look today at what it means to have faith, hope, and love, and to realize that the greatest of these three choicest graces is love. Love that we can’t conjure, but lives in us as God through Christ lives in us and loves through us. These are what will live forever. Let’s choose them most.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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