1 Corinthians 13:8-13
Faith, Hope, and Love
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
John 16:30-33
In This World You Will Have Trouble
30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Revelation 21:1-8
A New Heaven and a New Earth
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
There is great hope in our faith, and for those that believe in Jesus and His Father...God sent His Son to us to teach us about life, especially the holy and sacred things of life...His Son was born in Bethlehem and worked as a Carpenter and knew what it was like to work long hours and get tired...But more importantly He felt the same sufferings, griefs, angers, and death as men do -because He was a Man...God did this (by sending His Son and making Him grow from a Baby and to a Man) not only to pay for our sin debt, but also to show us His Great Love for us...
St. Paul writes that there are these three great virtues in our lives and they are faith, hope, and Love...And we must hang on to these three great treasures of life, because Jesus tells us in this world you will have troubles...And He specifically told this to His disciples, who were the ones that were closest to Him...So if His immediate followers were going to have troubles in this world, we can all expect a certain number of bad days in our own lives...But He gives us His hope, and these words to hold on to...Jesus tells us that He has overcome the world...
We learn more about this hope (and Him overcoming this world) in St. John's Book of Revelation...St. John tells us that God will one day wipe every tear from our eyes...And there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will then be passed away...The old order of this world will pass away and there will be a new order...There will be no more death..There will be no more mourning...There will be no more crying...There will be no more pain...We will then become children of God...At that time the Loving Father will then eliminate the troubles of the world...There will be no more problem of pain and the problems of evil...There will be no more suffering for the children of God...
As we live each day, we can reflect on and know that His Son did many of the same things we do...Jesus had many of the same feelings we have on a daily basis...Jesus experienced what it was to be and feel human...God sent His Son to help us (and die for us), and that is as personal as life can get...This, for me, is a great hope...This is especially important when these troubled days do come (as Jesus said they would)...My faith in Jesus and His Father give me this hope...And as I love others around me, and see that God Loves me, because He sent His Son to pay for my sins with His death, I can better understand love, and His Love...So, as I read St. Paul telling us that as get older with age, and mature, there are these three great virtues in our lives... And St. Paul must be right in writing that in life these three great virtues remain always with us: faith, hope and love...And the greatest of these is love...God's is LOVE...