I don’t live with my enemies a few miles away
Protected by a border constantly guarded by soldiers.
Nor do I know what it’s like to know that war,
Is possible any day, nor how I’ll respond if and when…
But there is hope.
I hope in God, who will always see me through
No matter the struggles of our present times.
That’s the victory of every situation. Hope.
Hope is my expectation.
As the sun breaks through gloomy clouds,
Sigh, everything will be alright, so I pray,
God, keep my Hope alive.
In the love chapter of Paul’s writing,
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NKJV)
Why not hope?
Here, Hope is sandwiched between Faith and Love.
You must go back even further in time.
Wise Solomon said it so well.
“Hatred stirs up strife,
But love covers all sins.” (Proverbs 10:12 NKJV)
If the greatest of the three is Love,
Then, my goal is to reach and grow
So Love will be my preeminent response
To that which produces hatred so easily felt.
Where does Faith come into play?
The OT mentions it by word only twice,
But Jesus and the NT use Faith over 229 times!
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17),
And without Faith, it’s impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)
How much Faith is required? Just a mustard seed is all. (Matthew 17:20)
Trust me… I could go on!
An orderly progression, as the alphabet or musical scale,
I must start with Faith, it’s truly foundational
That gives me an audience with Hope, looking to the future.
All of this points me to Love, three words we’ve learned so well,
Agape, Philo, and Eros.
I’m reminded of Peter, challenged to Love like Jesus,
He could never say the same word,
You’d have to read the Greek to get this.
Our English says Love, but Greek breaks it down much deeper.
Click here to read a synopsis of this thought.
So, today, I pray for Israel, but at the same time, I must love all.
If you isolate your love for just a few,
Then you’ve missed Christ’s calling to show love for all.
That’s the role I live this day. No one deserves my Hatred,
Though angry, I may be. Let me love them like Jesus.
That’s my job. Every day. Everywhere. All the time.
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