In a recent visit with my pastor, we were talking through the struggles and life changes Sondra and I are facing: my job transition (difficult), Sondra's dad passing away (awful), Jay getting married (yippee—but a big change), Josie moving off to college (jury's still out), and a few other things. It has been a lot to cram into a six-week period, to say the least.
I could go on and on about each of these challenges, but that’s not really the point here.
As we processed everything together, Matt asked me a simple question: “How can I help?” Just this morning, I found myself asking a friend who is facing a very difficult life trial that exact same question. It’s an easy question to ask, but a difficult one to answer. My typical response is: “Just pray.” And that’s a good answer—prayer matters—but it often doesn’t feel specific or comforting in the moment.
But this time, I believe the Holy Spirit brought something else to mind—1 Corinthians 13:13:
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
This verse is often quoted to emphasize the superiority of love over all things. But I think it’s easy to gloss over the vital importance of faith and hope. Paul wasn’t trying to diminish them—he was elevating love in comparison to two other great virtues. After all, love can only be the greatest when compared to other truly great things.
So, my answer this time was this: You can give me faith, hope, and love.
Faith can be exercised on behalf of others—through prayer, through encouragement from God’s Word, and by believing that God is at work even when things feel hopeless. Hope can be something we hold out for others when their own hope seems gone. And truthfully, I don’t think we can love others well unless we also have faith and hope. When faith is lost and hope is gone, what is left but to mourn the loss and try to move on?
Now think about love without faith and hope. What can motivate love to act in the absence of faith and hope. Earlier in the chapter, Paul vividly describes what a life of faith looks like without love—it’s empty, noisy, and ultimately fruitless. But can we really have hope without faith? Paul’s statement that “these three remain” shows the essential nature of all three virtues working together. And if we have faith, hope, and love—what more do we truly need, no matter what life throws our way? Our existence is complete so long as we have these three things.
“The greatest of these is love” shows us that faith and hope are made visible in the way we love others—and in how we allow others to love us. These three are beautifully interwoven. Their symbiotic nature is what helps us live whole, healthy lives—within our families, our churches, our workplaces, and our communities.
So we pray:
Lord, may our lives be filled with these three things—faith, hope, and love.
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