Start with Love
1 Corinthians 13:1–13
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

You may be one who has never known any of these three responses to the Lord Jesus Christ—neither faith nor hope nor love. You say that you cannot believe, that you have no grounds for hope, that you do not see how you can love him. If this is your case, may I suggest that you begin with love. And if you say, “But how can I love?” I answer that the way to come to love him is to begin with the knowledge that he loves you. That love is shown by his death for you. Moreover, he commends his love to you by this fact. The book of Romans says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (5:8).

Can you not focus on his death on your behalf and love him for that? I am convinced that if you truly focus on that death and respond to it—how can you fail to?—then the matter will not stop there. I am convinced that you will hear him call your voice and that, when he does, you will recognize him and respond to him gladly. In that moment, faith will be born in you and hope will triumph. You will be his forever.

Then too there is an application for those who already are Christians. You have believed in Christ; you love him. Your hope is centered in him. But it may have happened, as it does to nearly all of us at one season or another, that tragedy has come into your life, and faith and hope have both suffered from it. It may be death, perhaps that of a close friend or loved one. It may be suffering. It may even be just extremely bad news. The circumstance has confused you, and you have been wondering if you have ever really believed as you ought or if your hope for the future was ever a realistic one. If that is the case, do not despair. It has been the case of many. Instead, allow your love for Christ, which can never be destroyed by circumstances, to blossom. Draw near to him. For when you have done so, you will know the sweet communion that causes even faith and hope to grow also. You will learn to keep your faith and hope moving in the same direction as your love.

Faith, hope, and love! These three! “But the greatest of these is love.”

Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865

Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.