Okay, I know that love does both. . .I Corinthians 13 tells us that "love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things . . . ." But, if you had to sum it up in just one word (out of the two), which would it be? Love hopes. Love believes. I've been trying to decide which one would I pick if I had to pick one.
I tend to lean towards believes right at first. I want to believe in those I love. I want to believe that God is who He said He is. I want to believe in his unconditional and unfailing love. I want to believe in the best of my kids and believe in Andy and his gifts and dreams. I think "believes" is a great word to follow love.
Then I really think about hope. It is such a more positive sounding word. I kind of feel like believe is the darker side. . .I type that and know that it only makes sense to me. . .oh well. . .bear with me for a bit. Hope seems so much more optimistic and upbeat in my mind. Being hopeful seems like the world is full of possibilities!
I think I have blogged about this before, but I'm going to do it again. Our pastor from James River did an amazing sermon on HOPE and I am going to share my notes with you.
Hope is one of the most underrated unappreciated and misunderstood aspects of evangelical Christianity (Pastor John said and I agree). People tend to see it as second class to faith. And I have felt that, too. It seems like we are just to have faith (to believe) when bad things happen, for example. Just have faith. It seems like we have to say we have faith, but when we say we hope we seem to come across and shallow (maybe?) and faithless. Sometimes that is how I feel when talking to other Christians. Faith makes me a "good" Christian and "hope" makes me just not be faithful enough.
Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. And the best is yet to come which means we have something to look forward to. Pastor John says that Satan wants to neutralize our faith by taking away our hope--if he can steal hope from our hearts then we will be weakened.
"Now faith is the assurance of thigns hoped for. . . ." Hebrews 11:1a
If you don't have hope, faith has nothing to work with. If there is nothing you are hoping for, then faith has nothing to believe God for.
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23
Sometimes we have to make ourselves have hope. Soemtimes we have to talk to ourselves and remind ourselves that God is big and that we should have hop in Him. ("Hope deferred makes the heart sick. . .hope brings joy." Proverbs 10:28)
So, there is a little bit from John's sermon on hope. It isn't second class to faith. We have to have hope to have faith.
That brings me back to my original question. If you had to pick one (which you don't, but hypothetically). . .would you say love hopes or love believes? I know, both, but just if you HAD to pick. . . . ? If you were going to write it on your mirror as a daily reminder.
I'm still feeling wishy washy about which one I would pick, but I think I'm going to go with HOPE. . . .
I tend to lean towards believes right at first. I want to believe in those I love. I want to believe that God is who He said He is. I want to believe in his unconditional and unfailing love. I want to believe in the best of my kids and believe in Andy and his gifts and dreams. I think "believes" is a great word to follow love.
Then I really think about hope. It is such a more positive sounding word. I kind of feel like believe is the darker side. . .I type that and know that it only makes sense to me. . .oh well. . .bear with me for a bit. Hope seems so much more optimistic and upbeat in my mind. Being hopeful seems like the world is full of possibilities!
I think I have blogged about this before, but I'm going to do it again. Our pastor from James River did an amazing sermon on HOPE and I am going to share my notes with you.
Hope is one of the most underrated unappreciated and misunderstood aspects of evangelical Christianity (Pastor John said and I agree). People tend to see it as second class to faith. And I have felt that, too. It seems like we are just to have faith (to believe) when bad things happen, for example. Just have faith. It seems like we have to say we have faith, but when we say we hope we seem to come across and shallow (maybe?) and faithless. Sometimes that is how I feel when talking to other Christians. Faith makes me a "good" Christian and "hope" makes me just not be faithful enough.
Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. And the best is yet to come which means we have something to look forward to. Pastor John says that Satan wants to neutralize our faith by taking away our hope--if he can steal hope from our hearts then we will be weakened.
"Now faith is the assurance of thigns hoped for. . . ." Hebrews 11:1a
If you don't have hope, faith has nothing to work with. If there is nothing you are hoping for, then faith has nothing to believe God for.
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23
Sometimes we have to make ourselves have hope. Soemtimes we have to talk to ourselves and remind ourselves that God is big and that we should have hop in Him. ("Hope deferred makes the heart sick. . .hope brings joy." Proverbs 10:28)
So, there is a little bit from John's sermon on hope. It isn't second class to faith. We have to have hope to have faith.
That brings me back to my original question. If you had to pick one (which you don't, but hypothetically). . .would you say love hopes or love believes? I know, both, but just if you HAD to pick. . . . ? If you were going to write it on your mirror as a daily reminder.
I'm still feeling wishy washy about which one I would pick, but I think I'm going to go with HOPE. . . .
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p.s. this is Stephanie, I'm on Andy's computer ;)