Faith is the special lens of the Christian. It colors everything he sees in this world. X-rays, CAT scans, and MRIs can look into the body. Telescopes can view the corners of outer space, and microscopes the secrets of inner space. But faith is more powerful than all these because it augments not the eye but the understanding. It changes not just what we see, but how we think about what we see. Like X-rays, faith can see through things—and not just soft tissues. It is far more penetrating. Faith can see through complicated problems, through complex choices, through difficult questions, through pain and suffering, even through death. Like the telescope, faith can see far away things—not just objects in space but events in time. It can see the future. Faith can observe the consequences of poor actions, forecast the results of inaction, discern the rewards of right choices, and even preview the appraisal all actions on the day of judgment. Like the microscope, faith can see small things—things so small that they are often overlooked and unappreciated. It can see things as they really are. Faith can see the big results of small habits, the lasting influence of small kindnesses, the permanent rewards of small sacrifices. Faith is a better way of seeing. It’s a unique power of the Christian.

Hope is the Christian’s life preserver. It is both an anchor and a buoy for the soul. It’s what keeps the Christian afloat and at the same time keeps him from drifting. If faith gives the Christian perspective, so that his understanding is enlightened, hope is what gives him buoyancy, so that he’s resilient during life’s vicissitudes. Faith gives him clarity of vision, but hope gives him optimism. Faith permits him to see the shore while on stormy seas, but hope gives him the adrenaline to stay atop the swells, to resist the currents, and to keep on swimming. Hope is unsinkable. You can’t keep it under the water, because it’s anchored in the heavens. Hope is immovable. You can’t tear it loose or sweep it away, because it’s immaterial. Hope is indestructible. It’s impervious to the forces of nature, the weapons of men, and the devices of the devil himself because it’s connected to eternity. It’s what gives the Christian balance. It is optimistic but not na‹ve. It is anchored, but not stagnant. It is buoyant but not illusory. It keeps him upright, but humble. It keeps him afloat, but not aloof. It keeps him content, but not complacent. It causes him to yearn, but not despair. Hope is what equips the Christian pilgrim for all weather, all terrain, and every foe. Hope is the unique survival skill of the Christian soldier. It is a better way of resisting, of enduring, of waiting patiently. It is the assurance of vindication and victory in the end.

Love is the motive for Christian service. Faith gives him perspective, hope gives him endurance, love gives him cause for action. There is no energy that is equal to love. There is no power with greater potential for positive change. There is no force in all of creation that is more unpredictable than the human will. All matter, all plants, all animals subordinate to man all obey laws of nature and so behave in predictable ways. Not so man. He has the power of choice. The result is that you don’t know what men will do. But there is one power with the potential to affect human behavior in a positive way. That is the power of love. It is the one force that can penetrate the heart, stir the emotions, convict the conscience, and press the will into action. Out of all the weapons in God’s arsenal for waging war against sin and wickedness, He armed himself with love and stormed the citadel of man’s will. Love is the secret ingredient in the gospel that makes it God’s power to salvation. It is more explosive than gun powder, or nitroglycerin, or even an atomic blast. It changed the hearts of men and moved them to positive action. If love is the weapon of choice for the immutable, omniscient, and omnipotent God, it is certainly the greatest power in the sphere of human conduct. The Christian understands and respects the power of love. It has fueled change in his life. It’s how he affects positive change in the world, specifically the persons, around him.

All three of these faculties—faith, hope, and love—make the Christian distinct. “But the greatest of these love.” In heaven, faith will become sight. In eternity, hope will be realized. But love will endure. It is the rule of heaven. That does not negate the importance of faith and hope for the present. They are the means to the end. Love is the end itself. For now we need the company of all three—faith, hope, and love. Befriend them. Keep them with you. Rely on them. They are God’s gifts to help you find heaven.