The Three Pillars

More than once in the Bible we are given the three pillars of the Christian life. We find them in Colossians, Corinthians, Psalms, and Thessalonians.

“because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1:4-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭147:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Pastor Charles Swindoll describes these pillars in Living Insights by saying “Faith looks back to the anchor of salvation - Jesus Christ’s person and work. Love looks around, building up the body of Christ through selfless service towards one another… Hope looks ahead to the unalterable promise of God the Father, that He will one day usher us into His presence.”

Faith, Hope, and Love. Faith is believing what we cannot see - we never walked with God in the Garden or Jesus during his lifetime, yet we have faith that the Word is truth. Like we cannot see the wind, but we can feel it on our skin and see the leaves move. Hope is looking to our future. The hope that we will one day find ourselves in Heaven, death defeated, eternal salvation in Christ. Love is what we need to show others. Praying for people we know and people we have never met, even praying for our enemies. Giving forgiveness and grace to restore peace, even when our pride and flesh tells us the forgiveness isn’t deserved. Faith, Hope, and Love. Live by these pillars and you will find Grace and Peace in your life.