We are coming to the end of Paul’s message on charity. We’ve pondered his direction and tried to find ways to develop more charity within our lives. Now comes what is probably the most important message Paul could leave us with. Charity: “Believes all things, hopes all things”.
Faith is a belief, a hope in things that aren’t completely known or understood. It’s trusting our hearts and instincts more than the logic of the world. It often starts as something small, a small prickling on the back of your neck when you hear someone mention their belief in God. Perhaps it’s a lingering warmth or happiness after an inspiring piece of music. Maybe it’s just a gentle nudging inside of you that wants to do good, to be better, to reach for something higher. When its faith, it always leads you back to Jesus Christ.
Not everyone has the same measure of faith, just as not everyone is the same height or intelligence. It’s another piece of our unique natures. For some this faith is only in small things: a belief that living a good life will be rewarded with more good living. In others their faith is enough to move mountains. But in every case it’s a yearning for what is good and wholesome in the world around us and a recognition that such things come from the hand of God.
Hope is the part of our nature that looks toward the future. It is the desire for peace and blessings that we long for as we try to do what is right. It’s believing not only in Christ, but in what He can do for us: His saving grace, that allows us to come back in to the presence of a loving Heavenly Father. It’s the hope of forgiveness when we realize we’ve strayed off the path we should have kept to.
Charity is the ability to take these precious parts of ourselves and share them with those around us. It is seeing and accepting the faith of others, wherever that faith may lead them. It is hoping the best for someone who has wronged us, just as we hope to be forgiven when we wrong God. It is reaching out to one who may not have given heed to the initial sparks of faith within themselves. It is loving as the Savior would love, because of His love for us.
