Beyond Hope

Well, I hope all my single brothers and sisters survived Valentines day, and held on to the hope we all share . . . that of 1/2 price V-day candy (O:

1 Corinthians 13:13

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation:
Trust steadily in God,
hope unswervingly,
love extravagantly.
And the best of the three is love

Until we studied this passage in Bible study, I always assumed that it was saying that we should have more Love, than we do Faith or Hope. Reading the whole of Cor 13, we realized that Love is the greatest, in that it is never ending, it will last forever.

Faith and Hope, are very important virtues, but ones that will fade to nothingness once Christ comes back. Faith is trusting that which is unseen, and Hope is the joyful waiting to see that which we trust in . . .and of course Love will stay, because God is Love, and He is forever.

But for now I live in the Faith that God has an incorruptible love for us all (and wants me to love that way); I Hope in the day that the shackles of the sins I still cling to will be dust and memory; and I Love in a way that surely is a gift of the Holy Spirit, from the Sacred heart of Christ living in my own.

Below is the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, which perfect describes the reason for our Hope.

After the Last Tear Falls - Andrew Peterson

After the last tear falls
After the last secret's told
After the last bullet tears through flesh and bone
After the last child starves
And the last girl walks the boulevard
After the last year that's just too hard

There is love
Love, love, love
There is love
Love, love, love
There is love

After the last disgrace
After the last lie to save some face
After the last brutal jab from a poison tongue
After the last dirty politician
After the last meal down at the mission
After the last lonely night in prison

There is love
Love, love, love
There is love
Love, love, love
There is love

And in the end, the end is
Oceans and oceans
Of love and love again
We'll see how the tears that have fallen
Were caught in the palms
Of the Giver of love and the Lover of all
And we'll look back on these tears as old tales

'Cause after the last plan fails
After the last siren wails
After the last young husband sails off to join the war
After the last "this marriage is over"
After the last young girl's innocence is stolen
After the last years of silence that won't let a heart open

There is love
Love, love, love
There is love

And in the end, the end is
Oceans and oceans
Of love and love again
We'll see how the tears that have fallen
Were caught in the palms
Of the Giver of love and the Lover of all
And we'll look back on these tears as old tales

'Cause after the last tear falls
There is love

God is Love, perfect incorruptible Love