The Importance of Faith, Hope, and Love

We often talk of the importance of faith, hope, and love, but what do these words mean in a Biblical context?

Corinthians 13:13 says that there are three gifts common for all Christians: faith, hope, and love, but that the greatest of these is love. While the Bible has many teachings about all three words, it is love that is ultimately the most important aspect.

To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for and to know that our beliefs are real, despite not being able to see it. Faith is a channel of living trust, an assurance from God that His promises will never fail.

Hope is to trust in something beneficial that could happen in the future. This doesn't mean hoping that your team will win the league, rather it means that hope is more like faith, in that it is an assurance of things that are hoped for. Hope provides an anchor for the soul as it is rooted in the work of Jesus Christ, who paid for our sins on the Cross.