The Greatest of These

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Faith is crucial to the Christian life. We could not have become born again without it. We put our faith in the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. Because of this faith, which comes from God, we entered into God's family.

Hope is also invaluable to us. Hebrews 6:19 calls hope an anchor for our souls. Hope causes us to be firm and secure in our relationship with the Lord. It is an expectation for the promises of God to come to pass in our lives and in the lives of others.

But more important than these two critical attributes is the quality of love. The love that comes from God shows compassion to others regardless of what is or is not reciprocated. A Christian who loves with the love of God will extend kindness to another even if that person does not love in return.

We are called to love even our enemies. This is not possible through our own power. We can only love those that hate us through the grace of God. In Romans 5:5, we are told that the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. He empowers us to love others, and He fills our hearts with adoration for God.

Let's make it our goal to love God, other believers, and those that do not yet know the Savior. Let's open our hearts to all people. We can not do this in our own ability, but with the help of the Holy Spirit we can. Let's remember that of all the qualities we can seek for our lives, the greatest of these is love.

Dear Father God,

I worship You. Thank you for pouring your love into my heart through the Holy Spirit. I love You Lord and I choose to love others as well. Teach me to walk in your unfailing love. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

© Copyright 2010 by Tom Toya. All rights reserved.