Faith, Love, Hope

In the Bible, thanksgiving and prayer often go together. "We (Paul, Silas, and Timothy) always thank God for..." (the verb is in the present tense) indicates their practice/habit of giving thanks to God continually. They thanked God for the work He had done in the lives of the believers at Thessalonica. They acknowledged that the virtues and success of these believers were ultimately enabled by God. We see consistent & persistent intercessory prayer in Paul's life. To ponder: Do you devote yourselves to prayer with an attitude of thanksgiving? Do you continually pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ?

Paul points out about their work produced by faith, labor prompted by love, and endurance inspired by hope (in our Lord Jesus Christ). What an encouragement! To ponder: Do you tend to commend rather than condemn or the other way around? Do you tend to encourage rather than criticize or the other way around?

Faith, love, and hope are evidence of authentic conversion and abiding in Christ. Faith results in (good) works. Love results in labor. Hope results in endurance. We can see their faith at work and their love in action in verse 9, "...you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God," and their endurance of hope in verse 10, "and to wait for His Son from Heaven, Whom He raised from the dead--Jesus, Who rescues us from the coming wrath."

Faith that is not accompanied by good works is dead, futile, and worthless. Faith without works is not a genuine, saving faith. We are not saved by good works but we're saved to do good works. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Love without labor/action is mere fleeting feeling; it's not true Biblical love (agape). The word "labor" here comes from the Greek word, "kopos" which means chop, strike, beat one's chest as a sign of sorrow. It implies discomfort and difficulty. Labor prompted by love involves effort, toil, weariness, even sorrow, for Biblical love is selfless, unconditional, and sacrificial. Christ demonstrated this costly love in His death on the cross. Love moves us to gladly do a labor of sweat, blood, and tears. "Where love is the motive, the labor is light." (Unknown) 

Eternal hope in Christ brings about endurance and perseverance. Biblical hope is what keeps us going and never giving up no matter how difficult our trials and sufferings in this life may be. Confident hope in the Lord & His return, in eternal life in Heaven, and in all God's promises propels us to steadfastly, patiently, trustingly, courageously endure hardship, struggles, afflictions, and persecutions. When Jesus Christ is our Hope, we can endure anything.

Prayer: Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the gifts of faith, love, and hope! I thank You for all my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world and I ask You to watch over them and help them stay steadfast in faith, love, and hope through any circumstances. Please make Your children people of prayer and thanksgiving. Please fill us with Your Holy Spirit and may the work of faith, the labor of love, and the endurance of hope be evident in our lives! In Jesus's Name, I pray. Amen.