The Big Three

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Colossians 1:1
This same good news. . . is bearing fruit everywhere by changing
lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and
understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace (v.6).

My good friend Dan Keating is one of the most
accomplished charter boat captains for salmon
and trout on Lake Michigan. Over the past
25-plus years, he’s averaged an astounding 17 fish
caught per charter.

Captain Dan (not to be mistaken for Lieutenant Dan
from Forrest Gump), knows that to survive in the charterfishing
business he must locate fish day in and day
out. Locating salmon in the vast open waters of the
Great Lakes boils down to paying attention to three key
factors: cold water, baitfish, and structure. Decades of
experience on the water has taught this master angler
that the intersection of these three elements is where he
will consistently find the fish.

The New Testament teaches that the Christian life is
lived in the intersection of three basic elements: faith,
hope, and love. For example, the apostle Paul spoke
of this connection between the “big three” when he
affirmed the Christians in Colosse: “For we have heard
of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s
people, which come from your confident hope of what
God has reserved for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:4).

Paul also reminded the believers in Galatia that “we
who live by the Spirit eagerly wait [i.e., hope] to receive
by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.
For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no
benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith
expressing itself in love” (Galatians 5:5).

Faith, hope, and love are a powerful trio. They make up the essence and fruit
of the “good news” of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:3). Working together, they
sum up what life in Jesus is all about.

—Jeff Olson

more›
Notice the emphasis Paul put on faith, hope, and love in 1 Corinthians 1:13.

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What does it mean for you to be a person of faith, hope, and love?
How are you living out the good news before those in your sphere of
influence?

 

 

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