"Now abideth faith, hope, love, these three" C\ Cor. 13:13, A.R.V.). "Faith, hope, love" the indestructibles, the abiding things! The apostle Paul in his beautiful message to the church makes it clear that "these three" will abide. They were placed by God in the very heart of man in the beginning. They have kept man going forward through the centuries in his earthly pilgrimage. They will survive the awful storms of destruction that sweep the globe.
Sometimes the winds of misfortune, sorrow, and trouble spring up and blow our snug little scheme of living all askew. And if we are not watchful and vigilant, our faith may go "out the window." We must hold fast to faith.
We must hold fast to hope. Hope elevates and strengthens and inspires. Some of the most wonderful and soul-stirring verses of the Book are those in which hope appears: "The God of hope"; "We are saved by hope"; "Christ in you, the hope of glory"; "begotten us again unto a lively hope"; "that blessed hope." These are expressions that minister to the development of our spiritual strength. Hope reaches into the glorious eternity.
We must hold fast to love, for love is the greatest thing in the world. It is God's greatest gift to man, for "God is love." It is be cause love is the first fact of all facts in the gospel of Christ that the gospel is fitted to be a universal gospel. An idea is not the same thing to every mind, but love is the same thing to every heart. True obedience springs from love. "He that loveth not knoweth not God."
FAITH - HOPE - LOVE - THESE - THREE. Hold them fast.
