Three Essential Building Blocks
"But now abide faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” -1 Corinthians 13:13 (NASB)
In a dream I had not long ago I was attending a health and fitness conference that was sponsored by my general practitioner, who specializes in anti-aging and holistic medicine. At this conference, there was a booth that had on display a vast array of nutritional supplements. I remember being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of supplements and wondering how would you ever know which supplements were right for you? In response one of the workers at the booth said “for sure you need these three amino acids” because everything else depends on these. But there weren’t any labels on the three containers just the understanding these were essential. With thought in mind I woke up.
I jotted enough of the dream down so I would be sure to remember it when I got up in the morning. When I finally got up for the day I began to ask the Lord what it all meant. I knew it was important that I had these three things in my life but I didn’t know what they were. As I prayed about it the Lord reminded me of 1 Corinthians 13:13 and the phrase “now abide faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.” Immediately in my spirit I knew that this was the correct interpretation to the dream. God was reminding me that faith, hope and love are the building blocks of the spiritual life and must be in place if we are going to develop other beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors that will enable us to represent the kingdom of God.
Scripture highlights the essential nature of faith in several places. Hebrews 11:1-2 reminds us “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, conviction of things not seen” and “by it men of old gained approval.” The apostle Paul reminds that we are called to “walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) and “whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). Likewise, hope, as an extension of faith, serves as a foundational component of life by reminding us of our future. A future that is guaranteed by our faith in the Lord Jesus and His death and resurrection from the dead. Jesus as our living hope has guaranteed our “inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven” (1 Peter 1:4) for us who believe. We live with perspective and a confidence that places the events of this life in proper order. Finally, there is love, agape love. Jesus said loving God and loving our neighbor are the two great commandments in all of Scripture. “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:40). In other words, all the teaching of Scripture can be summarized in these 2 commandments to love.
The application for all of us is a Holy Spirit check in about the development of each of these building blocks in our lives. Am I living each day by faith, with every decision an act of faith? Is my hope grounded in the death and resurrection of Jesus and the promise of my future inheritance? And finally, does love characterize my relationship with God and others? The fullness of our spiritual lives depends on the vitality of each of these building blocks. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to grow them in us in order that we might continue to multiply our experience of the abundant life.
Author
Pastor Bruce is the Executive Director of God's Living Stones. He lives in Omaha, NE, with his wife Barb. They have two adult children.
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