Faith, Hope, and Love Written by Paul H. Treick
Thursday, 29. October 2009, 06:01:20
Faith, hope, and love are essentials of the Christian experience. While we will never experience the "loss" that the disciples felt after Jesus died, there are times in our lives when faith and hope become weak, even though we say that we love the Lord. "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13).
As we observe the time that Christ was in the tomb following the crucifixion, we see these three essentials weakened in the lives of those who followed Jesus. Their faith and hope were badly shaken, but we could not say that they ceased to love their Lord. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that cements all these three together.
An example of the weakness of faith is seen in Thomas who doubted (Jn. 20:24-29) until he could see and touch Jesus. His was a faith that demanded physical evidence. Unless he saw that evidence, he said, "I will not believe" (v. 25). Later Jesus chided him, "Be not unbelieving, but believing" (v. 27). Thomas's definition of faith and hope was here lacking the Hebrews 11 definition, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." He did not believe the Word proclaimed about Christ's resurrection. The other disciples also displayed this same weakness of faith (see Jn. 20:19; Lk. 24:25, 40-41).
The crucifixion also shattered the hope that the disciples had. "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened" (Lk. 24:21). They used the word "redeemed," which is exactly what Jesus did on the cross, but they saw it only in a temporal sense. "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:19). Any time our hope is only in the here and now, it is defective (cf. Heb. 6:18-20).
We can say that Mary Magdalene and the disciples did love the Lord. Mary was present at the trial, the crucifixion, and the resurrection of Christ. She was set free from seven demons (Lk. 8:2) and came weeping to the tomb of Jesus out of a great love for Him (Jn. 20:13). Being forgiven of much, she loved much (Lk. 7:47). She did not have the faith and hope of the resurrection (Jn. 20:15), but she still loved her Lord. But without the resurrection, even her love was incomplete. Her love would be in the past tense-she "loved" him. Her understanding of Jesus' love was also in the past tense for a time. For her, how could a dead Jesus still love her? Once she heard her Lord's voice calling her, and recognized it, she clung to Him with an intense love.
Without the resurrection of Jesus, faith, hope, and love are all in vain. Life is vain. The three days of Christ's entombment were dark and depressing for the disciples. Maybe we too go through events in our lives that lead to darkness and depression. The weakness of the flesh causes us to look on the temporal things instead of the eternal and to live by sight instead of by faith. Where do we go for light and life? It must be outside of ourselves and in the only One who has been tempted, suffered, died, and risen that we may come to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace. Go to the Victor!
It is the victorious, risen Jesus which gives substance and evidence to faith, hope, and love. These must exist together in us and together with Christ. In our weaker times, remember what Jesus said, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (Jn. 20:29). These things were written down for us in the Scriptures, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (Jn. 20:31). It is His Holy Spirit who was sent to guide and comfort us and assure us of His never-ending presence.
It is faith, hope, and love in the risen Christ that lifts us up to live a resurrected, thankful, and meaningful life. Nothing else can or will do this. "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:1-3). Life without an ever-present eye on the risen and reigning Christ is in vain. Life without a Savior is death.
Fear not! He is risen from the dead, reigning on high, and returning for us.
Written by Paul H. Treick
http://reformedherald.org/
As we observe the time that Christ was in the tomb following the crucifixion, we see these three essentials weakened in the lives of those who followed Jesus. Their faith and hope were badly shaken, but we could not say that they ceased to love their Lord. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that cements all these three together.
An example of the weakness of faith is seen in Thomas who doubted (Jn. 20:24-29) until he could see and touch Jesus. His was a faith that demanded physical evidence. Unless he saw that evidence, he said, "I will not believe" (v. 25). Later Jesus chided him, "Be not unbelieving, but believing" (v. 27). Thomas's definition of faith and hope was here lacking the Hebrews 11 definition, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." He did not believe the Word proclaimed about Christ's resurrection. The other disciples also displayed this same weakness of faith (see Jn. 20:19; Lk. 24:25, 40-41).
The crucifixion also shattered the hope that the disciples had. "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened" (Lk. 24:21). They used the word "redeemed," which is exactly what Jesus did on the cross, but they saw it only in a temporal sense. "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:19). Any time our hope is only in the here and now, it is defective (cf. Heb. 6:18-20).
We can say that Mary Magdalene and the disciples did love the Lord. Mary was present at the trial, the crucifixion, and the resurrection of Christ. She was set free from seven demons (Lk. 8:2) and came weeping to the tomb of Jesus out of a great love for Him (Jn. 20:13). Being forgiven of much, she loved much (Lk. 7:47). She did not have the faith and hope of the resurrection (Jn. 20:15), but she still loved her Lord. But without the resurrection, even her love was incomplete. Her love would be in the past tense-she "loved" him. Her understanding of Jesus' love was also in the past tense for a time. For her, how could a dead Jesus still love her? Once she heard her Lord's voice calling her, and recognized it, she clung to Him with an intense love.
Without the resurrection of Jesus, faith, hope, and love are all in vain. Life is vain. The three days of Christ's entombment were dark and depressing for the disciples. Maybe we too go through events in our lives that lead to darkness and depression. The weakness of the flesh causes us to look on the temporal things instead of the eternal and to live by sight instead of by faith. Where do we go for light and life? It must be outside of ourselves and in the only One who has been tempted, suffered, died, and risen that we may come to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace. Go to the Victor!
It is the victorious, risen Jesus which gives substance and evidence to faith, hope, and love. These must exist together in us and together with Christ. In our weaker times, remember what Jesus said, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (Jn. 20:29). These things were written down for us in the Scriptures, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (Jn. 20:31). It is His Holy Spirit who was sent to guide and comfort us and assure us of His never-ending presence.
It is faith, hope, and love in the risen Christ that lifts us up to live a resurrected, thankful, and meaningful life. Nothing else can or will do this. "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:1-3). Life without an ever-present eye on the risen and reigning Christ is in vain. Life without a Savior is death.
Fear not! He is risen from the dead, reigning on high, and returning for us.
Written by Paul H. Treick
http://reformedherald.org/
WIDGETIZE