The greatest of these is love

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 ESV)

And yet I will show you the most excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:31 NIV)
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And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV)

We hope for many things, some of which we may see happen whilst others fade away like a candle that is burning out.

Hopes, like dreams, are things we hold onto and they are things we really want to experience. I guess most of us know what it feels like when our hopes or dreams are shattered. It's a bereavement. We feel the loss acutely. 

Faith is a bit like a fishing line. It goes off into the future, hooks onto one of our hopes which we then reel back into the present. Faith brings our hopes into our reality, it gives them substance. Of course it would be nice if we had faith for all our hopes and dreams but it often doesn't work out quite like that. 

My encouragement is that you ask Father which of your hopes are going to be drawn into the present. That's faith. Let the fishing line of faith catch your hopes and dreams and may they become a reality in your daily lives. 

Faith and hope are important but they are not the most important. Paul reminds us that love is the "most excellent way". 
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Whatever happens with our hopes and to our faith, we are always held in his love. His love surrounds us every day of our lives regardless of how we feel or what is happening. He is always faithful, he is always loving and when we don't see our hopes realised we do have the assurance of his love holding and carrying us.

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​For more information about the next 'A' School, Experiencing Father's Love, click here

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