Todays Word is: Hope
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At first I wanted to make a post using hope in it, yet reflecting the Harry Potter movie release. But instead I decided to go with my first real exposure to the word hope.
In grade 5 I was given a Gideon Bible.
There was one passage that stuck out for me.
This came after some research into Corinthians 13:13
The words working up to this passage are quite profound, and really do explain that no one great belief or deed can effect any change if it does not follow love.
In my copy love is represented by the word Charity, so it was easy for me to set a moral path based on this one piece of scripture on its own.
In my teens you were no one if you didn't have the faith, hope and charity charm on your charm bracelet. A cross, an anchor and a heart.
I know that they are Scandinavian symbols.
The Cross stands for Faith
The Anchor stands for Hope
The Heart stands for Charity (or in newer meanings Love)
The Cross is the easy one... The Anchor because to wish well toward those sailing away enstilled the Hope that they would return. Also to anchor your beliefs. The Heart is the physical representation of romance but we want to enstill the Egape (true love, or selfless love).
I like this whole passage because it tells us that no matter if we are great doing just one of virtues, it is meaningless if we do not hold to us the virtue of Charity or Love.
We have to begin at the beginning.
We have to love first and continuously for hope and faith to flourish.
Love means not judging.
Love means complete
Not when it suits you, or when I get enough attention, or I will if you do this for me.
So here is the Bible Passage to Corinthians 13:13
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
In this day and age, many folks will only do something if they get something out of it. We often ask ourselves What is the Me factor?
But The Hope here is only fruitful if you do it without the Me factor.
For in Charity we do it just cuz.
At least we hope we do.
To choose to do something to aid man because they are our fellow man, and for no other reason is the ultimate hope.
To look upon only the positive and to believe positive and to evangelize that in your own life is how the Faith part comes in.
To believe in oneself, and in other people and in those that are our future because we give of ourselves to promote hope, we give of ourselves for the sake of mankind. And to do this is to tribute our faith. Wow Hope can be generic and have great meaning too!
We hope because we believe in ourselves and others, and we share a morality structure.
We have a movement of Faith that allows us to share Love. But without Love we are nothing within our Hope.
Once in a while I will pull a Bible passage out for my own sake.
This is MY one. The one I chose to relish since childhood.
Yes, us mediums are talked about in this passage.
I don't see this as a negative finger pointed at those that speak in tongues, or foretell things, but as a testiment to a time that will come when speaking in tongues and mediumship will no longer be necessary. A time when we will have it all together and the messages will be clear to all. It is clear that all must Love before the future, spoke of here, will happen.
So this is what I first think of when I think of Hope.
If you are not a participant please feel free to comment.
7 comments:
A very good post. I wonder how you, in particular, work with the idea of this passage in mind within a worldframe where nothing is without influence, bias, and a slant? Love in reality is not the pure agape of the passage, but a mixture of that tempered with other feelings, many of them negative. While I appreciate the idealisms of the Bible, sometimes it's difficult to figure out how to apply them in an environment where idealisms simply don't occur or survive.
You mentioned ulterior motives. That's something that's always interested me. I don't think anybody does anything without a personal motive, even one as kindly meant as feeling good about ones self. We're all in it for us- some are just better at projecting! Wow, that sounds so bitter... I'm not really, I swear!
the power of positive thinking is not the easiest thing. One must re-evaluate their way of thinking to be able to be this way. The also contains the idea that we are solely responsible for our actions. We are also responsible for letting negative into our life. We are imperfect so we must constantly re-evaluate our ideals.
Once again you really made me think. One little word can mean so much. I think Hope is larger than the person who has it. It is the virtue that truly makes us believe.
I thought of that passage as well but couldn't centre my thoughts around it so went another direction...that is one of my favorite passages though...when I was younger one of my favorite songs by Petra was based on Corinthians 13.
Great job Lynn. You worked hard on this and it shows. I enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed reading this post. In my mind, Love and Hope are inextricably tied and I think that you captured this remarkably eloquently in this post.
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