Manslick Road church of Christ

Faith, Hope, and Love

Less than a year after its inception, Paul wrote a letter to the church at Thessalonica. He began, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ . . .” (1 Th. 1:2-3 ).

Faith, hope, and love are a familiar trio. Here they are coupled with work, labor, and steadfastness. They are motivators. Faith in the Lord prompted the Thessalonians to work. Their love—for the Lord, for truth, for lost souls, for one another, etc.—produced labor (a more potent word than work; it suggests intense effort). Their hope in Christ made them steadfast, enduring persecution, disappointments, even internal problems that might arise.

We rightfully preach about the need to obey God. Obligations such as giving, assembling regularly, visiting the sick, and teaching the lost must be stressed. We cannot ignore these things and please God. Nevertheless, after all those sermons are preached, some still do not comply. Why not? In the final analysis, they do not want to.

If you combined all the shame, embarrassment, and browbeating you could possibly heap on someone, along with a heavy dose of motivational speeches and presentations by “experts,” the result would still not begin to compare with the moving power of genuine and growing faith, hope, and love.

I will still preach on what we ought to do. I will occasionally try to shame laggards into action. I will give a “can do” lesson once in a while. But what we need most is greater faith, greater hope, and greater love. Think about it.