The Greatest

"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love."

You know these words written by Paul so long ago. Even if you've never read 1Corinthians 13, you've been to a wedding. And I think it is a legal obligation that 1Corinthians 13 is read at every wedding.

Anyway...it's odd (at least curious) to me how backwards I've practiced this sacred triumvirate. Faith has often come first. Have faith. Just believe. Believe in Jesus. Believe in God. Believe the Bible. Justification by faith. Salvation by faith. Faith alone. Believe the gospel and you'll be saved.

Then, for me, hope has played a big part. Looking forward to the time when God will sort everything out (like things aren't sorted properly now). Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Thy kingdom come. I hope that they will accept Jesus.

Love has often taken the back seat to both of these. I'll love you if you have faith (the "right" faith at that). If you share my hope, then I'll love. Love just gets in the way of getting people to have faith in the right hope.

At least that's been my experience for a large portion of my life. Yours might be different. It's not to say that I didn't consider my faith and hope motivated by love. I did. But looking back, I can see that love never really entered the picture. Maybe a little, but not much. The greatest of these three was always faith...with a capital F.

That's what I preached from pulpits every week for nearly 2 decades. "Come forward and confess your faith." Never once did I invite anyone to come forward to show their love.

Now, after a long time and a lot of personal anguish, I can see how Love trumps faith and hope. It's not that faith and hope are insignificant. It's like ice cream. Strawberry and vanilla are great, but nothing beats chocolate!

But even now, I can take it one more step. As great as Love is when we love, how much greater is God's Love! The God who is Love. The God who is Love triumphs over our faithlessness, faithfulness, hopelessness, hopefulness, lovelessness, and love; because the greatest is Love.