Love Keeps Our Eyes on the Prize | OCN

So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I Corinthians 13:13

Monday, August 17

(Love) hopes all things.

I Corinthians 13:7

The renowned Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis had the following epitaph written on his tombstone: I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free. (It was written in Greek of course, and reads Den elpizo tipota. Den fovoume tipota. Ime lefteros.) On first glance, this seems like a good philosophy. It is right in line with the idea of not being emotionally tied to the outcome of something. If one is not filled with hope, then he will never be filled with disappointment either. To not fear on first glance also seems like a good thing. Fear is a difficult emotion that does claim our freedom somewhat.

Reflecting on this phrase (which by the way in my younger years I thought was a cool phrase, though I no longer think this), there are some existential problems. From a psychological perspective, fear can actually be a good motivator. Fear of failure motivates people to study harder, eat healthier, and lots of other things. Fear of failure, of course, sometimes causes people not to try, and one could debate whether fear is an inspiration or not.

However, hope is a good thing. Hope is a necessary thing. And hope is very important from a Christian perspective. On our worst day, when we are feeling at our lowest, we still can have hope in our salvation, we can still hope for the everlasting joy in the Kingdom of God. In fact, we probably don’t spend enough time thinking about this. We might think of heaven with fear, fear of missing out on it. However, if we are making an effort to live a Christian life, the fear is overtaken by hope that something better lies ahead, and not only hope, as in “I hope there is something” but hope in the sense of expectation that we can focus on when life gets difficult and we are having a hard time just taking the next step.

In my years as a priest, I have seen countless medical situations where a patient is given “no hope” of recovery. Eventually, every human being will get to this point. And while there may be no “hope of recovery” there is always hope. It’s just a question of the miracle we are hoping for. There are medical miracles, when someone unexplainably recovers from illness. Some people experience these kinds of miracles. However, the greatest miracle is when God opens the gates of heaven and allows someone to enter. While hope in medical miracles will ultimately fade for everyone, the hope for eternal life always remains on the table. This is why we say that love hopes all things because one can still have hope even during a tragedy.

Hope is a big theme in the Bible. Here are a few verses which highlight hope:

For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:11-13) If we put our hope in worldly passions, we will ultimately be disappointed because our time on earth will ultimately end, and then what? Hope gives us not only a goal and a destination, but an understanding of how we are to be living in the present—sober, upright and Godly lives—because our hope is not in what we are to gain in this world but what we are to gain beyond it, for eternity.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. (I Peter 1:3-4) A living hope is alive at all times. In our greatest moments of failure and setback, when we get to points where we feel no hope or question whether we will feel hopeful again, as Christians we believe we have a living hope because of the Resurrection, and that ultimate hope is not in worldly accomplishment or treasure but in what is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, which we read is kept in heaven for us.

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings. Knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5) It is interesting that St. Paul does not write that suffering takes away hope, but rather is a steppingstone on the way to hope. God is love, and love hopes all things. Therefore, when we place our hope in God, we are able to continue to love, both God and other people, even in times of suffering. Because love helps us to keep our eyes on the prize, salvation, and that prize gives us hope at all moments. True freedom does not come from having no hope, as Kazantzakis said. Because one has hope in Christ, he is able to withstand and endure the sufferings life throws at him.

Heavenly Father, You are the source of not only love and faith and but also hope. Help me to keep my eyes on You, whether it is for the goals of today or the goal of eternal life. May I find strength in You at all times and in all circumstances. Amen.

Love hopes all things, because love allows us to keep our eyes on the prize, salvation, and place our hope in that!