1 John 4:8
God is Love
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
John 14:6-7
I AM the Truth, the Way, and the Life
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Hebrews 6:13-20
Hope is the Anchor for the Soul
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
John 18:36-37
What is Truth
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
Matthew 9:6-8
Jesus Has God's Authority to Forgive Us
6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.
Luke 7:47
Those Who Forgive Little Love Little
47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.
1 John 1:5-10
Confessing Sins and Jesus' Forgiveness
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
How do you view the virtues of Truth, LOVE, forgiveness, faith and hope?...These great virtues we have on earth have different meanings for me...And I believe some of these great virtues on earth may change when we get to heaven...
Hope is both the earthly companion of faith, while it also has a spiritual and heavenly aspect...I use the word "earthly" because we are told to hope into the LORD, while we are on earth...Hope is the anchor to our soul...So many of our hopes are tied to the soul, which is the Spiritual Center in our mind and bodies...But when we are in heaven, then we are with the Father and His Son and our faith may stand beside itself and be just the faith in God and His Son...Hope in heaven may become a reality, instead of something intangible...Hope may become a fact, when we are personally with God and His Son...
Of these great virtues, faith and hope seem to be the ones that are delicate...So, I see faith as something fragile...Doubt gets in its way...Doubt tries to weaken our faith...Our uncertainties makes our faith more frail...And troubles test our faith and hopes...Faith and hope are more unsteady to me than Truth and LOVE...However, I think about Jesus and when He walked the earth, I believe His faith and His hope were not unsteady at all...Faith and hope can be strong at times and weak at other times...Hope seems to leave us sometimes, so I see hope as something that sometimes lessen and can dissipate over time...So we can lose our hopes and our dreams in a gradual way...Where as faith can hang on at the smallest of levels, even mustard seed levels...I believe Job showed us how he clung to faith, as many, many calamities, tragedies, and troubles of all kinds surrounded him...Small faith, can be a strong faith, and something to hold onto...Mustard seed faith can move mountains...Living by faith and hope is a Way of Life...
Forgiveness is an inclusion with love...We need to love to forgive...Can you forgive someone you loath and despise, and have been hurt by?...Jesus went around in His ministry forgiving people, and thus He LOVED them...Forgiveness is eternally linked to LOVE...Jesus teaches us that whoever has forgiven little loves little...He makes it sound as though forgiveness and love go hand in hand...If we claim we do not sin then the Truth is not in us...And since it is in our nature to sin, He is constantly forgiving us -as we confess our sins to Him...
Truth is a testament of faith...Faith may become Truth when we are in heaven, because we will be with God and His Son, and the Holy Spirit...Faith is the road to Truth, or the Way to Truth...Maybe through these virtues is why Jesus said that He came to earth to testify to the Truth...And He also said that when we know the Truth, this Truth will set us free...He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life...Truth embraces faith, hope, and LOVE...And LOVE embraces Truth, faith, forgiveness, and hope...And we can see that love is tied to forgiveness...So Truth and LOVE help lead us to faith and hope...Spiritually Truth and LOVE are certain and not doubtful...
Since God is LOVE, He is solid and firm, and yet He is Spirit...The Truth, the Absolute Truth is also firm...When we look to God and His Son, Truth and LOVE are unchanging and unmoving...Truth and LOVE are the same yesterday, today, and forever...
When one is strong in their faith, their hope, their love, and their Truth -they better see the Grace of God, and why He and His Son are to be worshipped and praised...