now abideth hope

Now abideth FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

That little speck in the palm of the man's hand, in the above image, is a mustard seed.  The Holy Ghost said something very important about faith.  He said, "Now abideth faith."  The Greek word me÷nw (pronounced meno), translated as "abideth," means: continue, endure, be present, remain.  Faith remains.  It may appear very small indeed; but if you are a true Christian, faith remains within you.  Jesus said something else very important about faith: He said that if you "have faith as a grain of mustard seed..., nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matthew 17:20).  

But without hope, faith cannot act, because one who is hopeless will not act.  God knows this.  That's why he provided not only that faith is capable of itself to "continue, endure, be present, remain."  But also HOPE "abideth."  I like that word, "abideth."  Whereas inanimate things are capable to "continue, endure, be present, and remain;" yet, only a living thing can "abide."  Faith "abideth," together with hope and love.  How so?  Because, faith, hope, and love ~ is a Person.

And that divine Person, who is Christ, "abideth" in the spirit of every truly born-again individual.

Hope.  It may appear no more substantial than that little grain of mustard seed.  Still, it abideth ~ so long as Christ abides in you.

And because that Hope abides in you, therefore, you bear within yourself the one thing which the world so desperately needs, but does not have: Hope.  But are we ourselves living as if we know anything about that everlasting Hope?  I think not.

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.  Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.  Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.  And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water....  (Isaiah 35:3-7a)

See what Hope does?  It is life-giving; for, it is Life.  Hope gives life because Christ is Hope, and Christ is that Eternal Life.  Where Christ is, there is Hope.  Where there is no hope, it is because that Christ is not there.

But hope does not itself act.  Rather, faith acts.  But faith cannot and will not act apart from hope.  Faith must have hope, if faith will be active.

But did you know that the Bible says that "faith works by love" (Galatians 5:6)?

"Now abideth faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Why is love the greatest?

Because, love is what inspires and ministers hope; and hope, in turn, nurtures and strengthens faith.  Thus, "faith worketh by love."

Do you love what Christ loves?  Really?

Do you not, then, want to see humanity raised up from its desperately lost condition and utter hopelessness?  Do you not want to see people coming with all of their heart to receive the great salvation which Christ himself longs to give to them?  God seeks to reconcile the world to Himself, in and through Jesus Christ.  However, the "ministry of reconciliation" God has committed to us (2 Corinthians 5:18).  We have been commissioned to serve as Christ's "ambassadors" (2 Corinthians 5:20), "holding forth the word of life" (Philippians 2:16) to those who are "without Christ,... having no hope, and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12).

Christ is the hope of the world.  But where is Christ?

You say that He is in you.

Do you not, then, hold within yourself the "hope of the world?"

Do you not also, then, have within yourself the everlasting Love of God?

Then, where is the evidence of FAITH, in your life?  "Faith is the substance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1).  But is faith meant to be the substance of things WE hope for?  Or might it rather be the case that faith is given to us by Christ, to bring forth things HE hopes for?

I say, "things HE (Christ) hopes for," because, Christ will not force us to obey the will of His Spirit.  But He hopes that we will love him and, thus, that we will seek to know and to do His will.

Faith is the substance of things CHRIST hopes for.  Christ does not merely hope that we will allow Him to live in us and to act through us.  But the "substance" of everything Christ wants to bring forth, must be manifested by and through faith.  Faith is the substance.

Furthermore, faith is also the "evidence of things not seen."  Christ in you ~ is not seen.  But your faith is the evidence, the proof, that Christ really does live in you.

But James said that your faith can only be demonstrated by WORKS.  No "works," means no faith.  I didn't say that.  The Holy Ghost, through James, said it.

You say that you are a Christian.  I, for one, want very much to believe you.  I am on your side, if you are a Christian.  For, you are the hope of the world.  Christ lives in you.  And I know something about what Christ can do, and what He will do ~ if He be given the opportunity.

There is something very wonderful ~ but also very dreadful ~ about being a Christian.  Wonderful, because, I may have fellowship with God, in and through Christ.

Dreadful, because, God has ordained that much of what God will do in the earth, He will only do, on condition that I and other true Christians will covenant together to serve the Lord ~ as a body.  There is very much that I want to do for Christ.  But most of that is beyond my ability, alone, to do.  It is a dreadful thing, when Christians fail to recognize the absolute necessity of fulfilling the will of God in the context of a Covenantal Body.  (Warning: As long as you mistake some apostate church for a "Covenantal Body," then you will not fulfill the will of God.)

Faith abides.  Hope abides.  Love abides.  IF ~ Christ abides.

But Christ will not always abide, if we continue to refuse Him.

Lay down your life.  Allow the Hope of the world to live through you.

"It's late; it's very late: but, it's not too late."  Not yet is it too late.

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.  Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.  Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.  And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water....  (Isaiah 35:3-7a)

God will do His part ~ when we will do ours.