arti love faith and hope

Mostparticularly for me as a Christian, Jesus’s costly love, death, and resurrection had become not just something I believed and filed away, but a Thisis a “tough love” moment for America and Americans. Call it “spanked by reality.”. Where do we go from here? First, realize that the ship of state is Patienceis a virtue and it’s worth waiting for the best days to come. 3. Keeping a positive mind is the key. 4. Time will give each one of us the happiness we deserve. 5. Persist and you won’t be disappointed. 6. Even if you think it’s the end of the world, it is not; the sun is ready to shine again. Hebrews11:1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith goes beyond what we can perceive with our physical senses, so it does not work by the rules of science. Faith allows us to believe that the invisible God can do what is physically impossible. In that sense, faith is built and grows on a Nowfaith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain Site De Rencontre Gratuit Et Sans Inscription. Alumni Spotlight The Rev. Bernadette Hickman-Maynard, AB ’02, EdM ’03, MDiv ’07 Harvard Divinity School welcomed our new Associate Dean for Ministry Studies, the Rev. Teddy Hickman-Maynard, to campus for the menginjak of the 2022 academic year. Throughout his first year at HDS, he has become a vibrant voice within the community, affectionately known as “Dean Teddy.” During an interview for a 2022 Dean’s Report story on multifaith ministry, Dean Teddy was asked about the importance of multireligious education. He fervently shared the story of an alumna near to his heart who is using her education in psychology, education, and divinity to make a difference in the world the Rev. Bernadette Hickman-Maynard. The Hickman-Maynards met as undergraduate students at Harvard College. They saw each other through several post-secondary degrees two masters degrees for her, a masters and PhD for him while also building a marriage and starting a family. They have four children. In addition to establishing their careers in both ministry and education, they have also become avid advocates for their community in Lynn, MA. The Rev. Bernadette Hickman-Maynard is currently the pastor of Bethel AME Church in Lynn. She is also the Deputy Director for Essex County Community Organization ECCO and co-chair of the Lynn Racial Justice Coalition of which ECCO is a member. Pastor Hickman-Maynard, now a pillar of community- and coalition-building in the Northeast, grew up on the West Coast. Born in Inglewood, CA, she was raised by a single mother who emphasized the importance of education from a young age. “ She wouldn’t have used the word poverty,’” Hickman-Maynard shares about her mother, “but we were low-income, and she always taught berpenyakitan that education was our ticket to make a better life for ourselves. So, from the very beginning, she did everything she could to make sure I had access to the best schools possible.” Religion was also a powerful force in her upbringing. Hickman-Maynard was raised as a devout Christian in the Conservative Baptist Association of America, which she notes was “both the name and the description” of the church. With an ardent emphasis on accepting Jesus Christ as lord and savior to escape hell in the afterlife, Hickman-Maynard’s experience with this tradition involved a staunch hierarchy of power. Women were titinada granted any official authority within the church; they were forbidden from preaching or teaching male congregants over the age of 18. Moreover, while the congregation was primarily comprised of Black community members, leadership consisted entirely of white membubuhi cap. Reflecting on her earlier experiences with religion, Hickman-Maynard notes that she identified as a secular feminist. “I believed that women could be doctors, lawyers, even president of the United States in the secular world, but not within the church,” she says. “Women and men were equal, but in the church, God called menandai to lead.” It wasn’t until she was introduced to an African Methodist Episcopal AME Church in Roxbury that Hickman-Maynard began to see more diverse representation in religious leadership. A Pathway to Ministry Grounded in Psychology and Education From a young age, Hickman-Maynard showed exceptional talent in science and math. She had early ambitions of becoming a doctor and, with the encouragement of her family, attended a medical magnet high school in Los Angeles. She reflects “When I applied to colleges and got into Harvard, it was like a dream. But my mother didn’cakrawala pressure me. She let berpenyakitan consider UCLA or Stanford.… It was my aunt who said, you’re going!’” When asked about the transition from the West Coast to Cambridge, Hickman-Maynard laughed “I had never even visited before, but I was invited to a pre-frosh acara for women in science before move-in day. I remember hailing a cab and saying, I need to go to Harvard University,’ and the cabbie was like okay, where?’ This was before the days of Uber, Lyft.… I didn’t even have a cell phone! But I had a paper with berpenyakitan that said Canady Hall,’ so I got myself there, and that was the first time I stepped foot on campus.” As a first-year student, Hickman-Maynard remembers exploring concentrations and searching for a church to call home on the East Coast. She was introduced to the Kuumba Singers on campus—an organization that explores and shares the rich musical culture of Black people through spirituals, gospel, African folk songs, and contemporary music. Joining Kuumba was particularly influential for Hickman-Maynard. “Kuumba was the first place where I experienced Black spiritual music. I knew gospel music, but we couldn’kaki langit play drums in my home church; drums were of the devil. So, I really gravitated to Kuumba as a space for my faith as a Christian, but also as a Black Christian who was newly exposed to the celebration of Black spirituality.” Kuumba is also where young Bernadette Hickman met young Teddy Maynard. Reflecting on their introduction, Hickman-Maynard shares “I knew he was a minister, and I kept telling him to take berpenyakitan to church because I was looking for a local church home. He brought me to Charles Street AME Church, and there were a number of things that were surprising to me. First, there were women who were preaching and teaching, and I thought, well, they don’tepi langit seem to be of the devil!’ Second, I learned that God does titinada just care about the Bible and souls going to hell. I learned that God does not want us to live in hell on earth—that sexism matters, that racism matters, and that Jesus came to set captives free on earth. That’s where I had a shift in my faith and a shift in my understanding of my role within Christianity because I was able to see women who were indeed being used by the Semangat to preach and to teach and to lead God’s people.” The AME Church , built on a foundation of emancipation and liberation in the late 1700s, was not without its own gender politics. Jarena Lee , a renowned preacher who was a contemporary of the church’s founder, Richard Allen, was only ordained posthumously in 2022. However, seeing women in leadership roles within the church inspired an evolution of both personal faith and professional ambitions for Padri Hickman-Maynard. “Coming to Harvard, I did feel called to be a doctor. I wanted to help people heal their bodies. As I learned more, I found myself thinking about how I could help heal people’s lives and break down those systems of oppression that hold people back and prevent them from thriving. So, that’s where I started to have a shift in my faith, in my calling, and in the type of work I wanted to do. And all that happened at Harvard College.” After her undergraduate work, Hickman-Maynard earned a masters degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, focusing on human development and risk prevention. She then decided to pursue a masters at HDS to begin formal ministry work. Advisors at HDS, notably Cheryl Giles , helped create space for exploring feminism and womanist theology, including the work of a past WSRP Research Associate, Delores Williams . When asked about the importance of studying at a multireligious divinity school, Hickman-Maynard notes “I wanted to study alongside other women who were exploring their faith, interrogating their faith, and finding out what was liberating about their faith at the same time. So that’s what appealed to me about Divinity School, that I could study with Christian, Jewish, and Orang islam women—people of all traditions—to see what’s possible.” Community Organizing in Service of a Just World At Peace After completing her studies at HDS and being ordained an Itinerant Elder in the AME church, Hickman-Maynard began her pastoral ministry and community organizing in Bridgeport, CT. She later returned to the Boston area, where she has been leading Bethel AME Church in Lynn. She has also built a network of advocates through ECCO and serves as co-chair of the Lynn Racial Justice Coalition. What Hickman-Maynard has seen up close and personal in both communities is a deep, unyielding need for community support—especially regarding racial justice and police reform. Working to change and/or dismantle broken systems can be dispiriting, but building coalitions of community advocates, especially with interfaith organizations, is one way to sustain momentum. Working together toward concrete goals that serve as stepping stones toward progress is another. Hickman-Maynard has made it a point to bridge cultural and religious divides—working with pastors, priests, rabbis, and imams—to create movements that share common goals. She also builds connections with secular community members, policymakers, union leaders, and advocates for an array of issues, using her time, energy, and skills to facilitate productive conversations, organize action, and negotiate systemic change. One example of this work in action is when the city of Lynn wanted to increase the police budget by $2 million in the wake of yet another wave of police brutality in 2022. The summer after Breonna Taylor and George Floyd were killed by police, the then-mayor of Lynn, Thomas McGee, denounced racism but had yet to implement reforms within the city’s own police force. Working with a number of community organizations and activists, Hickman-Maynard employed a range of organizing skills rallies , education , policy plans to advocate for body cams, bias trainings, and a better plan for nonviolent crisis response. Mayor McGee worked closely with ECCO and the newly formed Lynn Racial Justice Coalition to pursue a series of reforms to address systemic racism and equitable public safety for all , including Updating the Lynn Police Department’s Use of Force Policy, which included the addition of body cameras Establishing the city’s first-ever diversity, equity, and inclusion office Allocating $500,000 for a pilot test of an unarmed crisis response team ALERT Considering the establishment of a civilian review board for police. This was a major win for the community. Additionally, a successful juru terbang program could mean reform across the state. Boston and Cambridge have already signaled they would also explore such an option, with Lynn’s test-run paving the way for expansion across Massachusetts. However, with a change in local leadership, plans have been stalled. A September 2022 interview with Mayor Jared Nicholson , focused mostly on real estate development and transportation, mentions the unarmed crisis response team at the end noting “there is not yet a menginjak date for the program.” Community leaders continue to advocate for this vital program to create, as Pastor Hickman-Maynard says, “a future of public safety that keeps everybody safe.” On Solidarity and Sustaining Progress Coalition building has proven to be one of the most effective forms of advocacy and community support, but it is not without its trials and tribulations. One major challenge is navigating the often-complicated politics and procedures of bureaucracy especially for people who are volunteering their time in addition to being parents, pastors, community leaders, teachers, health care providers, and laborers. Add a universal pandemic to the mix and this work becomes much more difficult. Another major challenge, especially for leaders from marginalized communities, is getting support from different people in ways that support the cause without subverting power. Hickman-Maynard says “I consider the community to be my congregation, and my work is to help tear down systems of oppression affecting the community so that we can all be free. One thing I have learned through interfaith work is that Black people can’t do it all by ourselves. LGBTQ folks can’t do it all by themselves. Marginalized folks can’cakrawala do it all by themselves. We need to get together, and we need to get together with white people, and people who have different types of privilege, to build that power and make change that benefits all of us. This is something I have really committed to figuring out how to work with white people so they are actually coming alongside, and sometimes behind, folks of color to support the direction and agency-building of marginalized groups to fight for justice in the way that we see bugar.” In short, to work for justice, all the -isms and -phobias need to be checked in favor of support and solidarity. —by Amie Montemurro Iman, harapan, dan kasih..... Pertama, saya akan membahas mengenai iman. Walaupun saya adalah orang awam, namun saya percaya bahwa kita semua, umat beragama, pasti memiliki iman kepercayaan masing-masing. Entah itu yang beragama Kristiani, Islam, Hindu, Buddha, pasti diajarkan untuk beriman kepada Tuhan Yang Maha Esa. Iman itulah yang menjadikan kita sebagai pedoman hidup untuk terus bertahan di tengah-tengah kerasnya kehidupan di dunia ini. Tanpa adanya iman yang kuat, kita pasti mudah untuk terjerumus ke dalam dosa, yang malah akan merugikan diri kita sendiri dan orang lain di sekitar kita. Kedua adalah harapan. Harapan ini seringkali ditujukan untuk Tuhan kita berupa doa permohonan. Seperti saat kita gagal mendapatkan apa yang kita inginkan, kita secara sadar maupun tidak sadar akan membatin atau mengatakan Tuhan, bukan ini yang saya inginkan. Saya menginginkan hubungan yang harmonis, cinta yang sejati, usaha yang lancar, dan sebagainya. Ya, harapan adalah keinginan kita. Terakhir adalah yang terpenting dari semuanya. Cinta kasih. Kalau yang ini pasti semuanya sudah bisa mendefinisikan apa itu cinta. Heheheee... Ada yang bilang, cinta itu rumit. Semakin dipikirin, semakin bikin otak melilit. hahaha.. Tetapi, buat yang sudah menjalin bahtera rumah tangga atau buat pasangan muda-mudi yang sedang kasmaran, pasti akan mengatakan bahwa cinta itu manis. Semanis dirinya di hatiku.. wakakakaa.. Memang benar, cinta dapat membuat segalanya berbeda. Suasana yang dingin dan kaku, dapat menjadi hangat jika ada cinta di dalamnya. Entah itu cinta dalam keluarga, persahabatan, maupun dalam hubungan berpacaran dengan lawan jenis. Karena ini adalah bagian terpenting, mungkin saya akan sedikit sharing tentang pengalaman pribadi saya. Dia itu sosok yang berbeda dibandingkan dengan pria lainnya yang saya kenal. Saya mengenal dirinya saat di bangku kuliah, tepatnya dalam sebuah organisasi paduan suara universitas. Awalnya sangat manis. Pastinya.. Dan itu adalah momen yang tidak akan pernah terlupakan. Kami jadian tanggal 22 Agustus 2008. Sehari sebelum kami mengikuti kompetisi paduan suara di salah satu institut negeri di daerah Bandung. Waktu berjalan, memang tidak semudah yang kami kira. Setahun kemudian, masalah pertama mulai mewarnai kehidupan cinta kami. Dia sempat menyerah dan berniat untuk putus dari saya, namun saya terus meyakinkan dirinya untuk bertahan dan menyelesaikan masalah itu baik-baik. Permasalahan yang kami hadapi saat itu tidak ada hubungannya dengan orang ketiga. Dia hanya stres karena ada masalah dalam sidang skripsinya. Saya bisa merasakan bahwa dia hanya perlu ditenangkan emosinya. Akhirnya kami berhasil menjalin cinta kami kembali setelah saya memperjuangkannya. Selang waktu berlalu, dirinya pun akhirnya diwisuda dan ternyata masalah kembali datang di kehidupan cinta kami. Sebulan setelah dirinya diwisuda, saya yang saat itu masih sangat labil, mulai mempertanyakan keseriusan dan komitmennya. Dia tidak menepati janji untuk ketemuan, dan saya memaksanya untuk datang ke kosan saya. Ternyata dia datang, dan tepat malam itu hujan sangat deras. Saya merasa sangat sangat bersalah padanya. Dia membuktikan janjinya. Namun dia menjadi sangat marah kepada saya...dan meminta saya untuk putus saat itu juga.. Saya sangat menyesal dan berniat ke rumahnya malam itu juga untuk minta maaf. Kakak-kakaknya pun sampai ikut mendukung keputusan saya, karena saya memang sudah dekat dengan keluarganya. Saya dibantu oleh kakak iparnya, menginap di kamar kakak iparnya tanpa sepengetahuan dirinya, dan menulis surat untuk diselipkan di pintu kamarnya. Paginya, saya berusaha untuk berbicara empat mata dengannya. Awalnya dia tidak mau bertemu dengan saya, namun akhirnya dia mau membicarakan masalah kami berdua. Pendek kata, kami berbaikan kembali.. Untuk yang ketiga kalinya, dia meminta saya untuk putus lagi. Kali ini lebih ekstrem, karena saya memperjuangkan keutuhan cinta kami sampai ke Garut, Jawa Barat. Memang, setelah kami baikan untuk yang kedua kalinya, kami mengalami apa yang disebut Long Distance Relationship LDR. Saat dia minta untuk putus, saya sedang KKN Kuliah Kerja Nyata di daerah Semarang, sedangkan dia kerja di Garut. Saya langsung bela-belain ke Garut seorang diri, hanya untuk meng-clear-kan permasalahannya. Saya memang belum pernah ke Garut, dan hal itu yang membuat teman saya, bahkan sahabat saya, mencegah keberangkatan saya ke sana seorang diri. Namun tekad saya sudah bulat. Saya benar-benar ingin membuktikan bahwa rasa sayangnya saya ke dirinya tidak main-main. Sesampainya di Garut, dia terlihat begitu kaget saat saya ada di depan kosannya. Saya pun segera membicarakan penyebab mengapa dia meminta putus. Ternyata hanya satu, sangat klise, dia bosan. Dia tetap bersikukuh untuk putus dengan saya saat itu juga. Rasa sakit, lelah, dan kecewa, saya tumpahkan di depan dia, yang ditutup dengan kata maaf dan ciuman di kening saya. Sinetron banget yah.. Tapi itu benar-benar saya alami. Sejak saat itu, saya akui, sangat sulit untuk bangkit dari rasa kecewa. Tapi dari peristiwa itu, saya mulai belajar untuk lebih mendekatkan diri pada Tuhan saya, Tuhan Yesus Kristus. Kemudian saya mendapat salah satu ayat dari Alkitab, yaitu 1 Korintus 13 1 - 13. Awalnya saya tertarik karena salah satu dari ayat tersebut membicarakan tetntang yang namanya "KASIH". Melalui ayat tersebut, saya merasa bahwa saya diingatkan kembali atau lebih tepatnya ditegur olehNya. Ternyata saya merasa bahwa saya masih sangat kurang dalam mencintai pasangan saya. Arti mencintai tidak hanya sekedar "aku sayang dia", tetapi juga ada pembelajaran yang harus diperdalam kembali sebelum kita benar-benar siap untuk menjalin huibungan yang lebih intim dengan lawan jenis. Berikut ini adalah sepenggal dari ayat yang terkandung dalam 1 Korintus 13. Kasih itu sabar; kasih itu murah hati; ia tidak cemburu. Ia tidak memegahkan diri dan tidak sombong. Ia tidak melakukan yang tidak sopan dan tidak mencari keuntungan diri sendiri. Ia tidak pemarah dan tidak menyimpan kesalahan orang lain. Ia tidak bersukacita karena ketidakadilan, tetapi karena kebenaran. Ia menutupi segala sesuatu, percaya segala sesuatu, mengharapkan segala sesuatu, sabar menanggung segala sesuatu. Kasih tidak berkesudahan. Saat membaca sepenggal ayat tersebut, saya sadar, masih ada banyak sekali kekurangan pada diri saya. Seringkali saya sulit memaafkan apa yang telah diperbuat oleh dia, terutama hal-hal yang menyakiti hati saya. Padahal jelas-jelas Tuhan mengajarkan kita untuk tidak menyimpan kesalahan. Saya juga akui bahwa saya terkadang menjadi sangat marah apabila dia tidak menepati janjinya pada saya. Jujur, saat itu saya merasa bahwa saya memang saat itu belum pantas untuk mengasihi dirinya. Masih ada banyak kekurangan dari diri saya. Masih belum sempurna 1 Kor 13 9. Mungkin, Tuhan Yesus saat ini memberikan jalan yang terbaik untuk saya dengan cara putus, supaya saya belajar untuk menjadi pribadi yang lebih baik lagi dalam mengasihi pasangan saya nantinya. Iman, harapan, dan kasih. Tanpa adanya iman yang kuat, bisa saja saya berpikir untuk melukai diri saya sendiri. Tanpa adanya harapan untuk terus hidup, saya bisa saja menjadi orang yang sangat depresi, bahkan gila. Dan tanpa adanya cinta kasih dari sahabat, teman, dan tentu saja, Tuhan Yesus Kristus, saya tidak akan bisa move on seperti sekarang ini. Cinta kasih memberi pengaruh yang sangat besar di dalam hidup saya, bahkan dalam hidup Anda. Apa yang akan terjadi jika tidak ada cinta dari orang-orang yang menyayangi Anda dengan tulus? Dunia ini memang jahat. Saya akui itu. Tinggal bagaimana cara kita untuk melawan kejahatan itu dengan cinta kasih yang kita miliki? Ampuni dia yang sudah menyakiti hati dan perasaan kita Berdoa dan berharap yang terbaik padaNYA Beriman dan percaya pada janjiNYA Selalu berserah diri kepadaNYA Point pertama memang terdengar sangat sulit untuk dijalankan. Tapi percayalah, tidak ada yang mustahil bagiNYA! Kita pasti mampu mengampuni dia dan menggantikan posisi dirinya dengan orang yang lebih baik dari dirinya. Mengapa? Karena rencana Tuhan selalu lebih indah dari yang kita kira! Ini adalah secuil proses pendewasaan diri. Semua proses itu adalah hujan dariNYA. Pelangi akan selalu hadir saat hujan reda.. Itu adalah janji Tuhan. Dan janjiNYA adalah kekal, setia, selamanya. Amin. Tuhan memberkati kita semua. Faith, Hope & Love A chapter doneTurn the pageAnd separate roadsLead separate waysBut as we go, we're not aloneNo, we're not aloneBecause faith and hope and loveAre waiting for you when we say goodbyeWhere would we be without the FaithWhere would we be without the HopeWhere would we be without the FaithThe one that God alone has madeBecause faith and hope and loveAre waiting for you when we sayFaith, hope and loveAre waiting for you when we say goodbyeWhere would we be without the FaithWhere would we ve without the HopeWhere would we be without the FaithThe one that God alone has madeBecause faith, hope and loveAre waiting for you when we sayFaith, hope and loveAre waiting for you when we say goodbyeYea, though I walkDown in the valley of the shadow of darknessI will not fearI will fear no evilBecause faith, hope and loveAre waiting for you when we sayFaith, hope and loveAre waiting for you when we say goodbyeBecause faith and hope and loveAre waiting for you when we say goodbyeFaith and hope and loveWaiting for you whenWe'll be praying until thenWaiting for you when we say goodbye Fé, Esperança & Amor Um capítulo feitoVire a páginaE estradas separadasConduzem a caminhos separadosMas como nós vamos, nós não estamos sozinhosNão, não estamos sozinhosPorque a fé, esperança e amorEstão esperando por você quando dissermos adeusOnde estaríamos sem a Fé?Onde estaríamos sem esperança?Onde estaríamos sem a Fé?O que só Deus tem feitoPorque a fé, esperança e amorEstão esperando por você quando dissermosFé, esperança e amorEstão esperando por você quando dissermos adeusOnde estaríamos sem a Fé?Onde estaríamos sem a Esperança?Onde estaríamos sem a Fé?O que só Deus tem feitoPorque a fé, esperança e amorEstão esperando por você quando dissermosFé, esperança e amorEstão esperando por você quando dissermos adeusAinda que eu andeAbaixo no vale da sombra da escuridãoEu não temereiEu não temeria mal algumPorque a fé, esperança e amorEstão esperando por você quando dissermosFé, esperança e amorEstão esperando por você quando dissermos adeusPorque a fé, esperança e amorEstão esperando por você quando dissermos adeusFé, esperança e amorEsperando por você quandoEstaremos orando até entãoEsperando por você quando dissermos adeus What have Christians been known for in 2021? What has marked the church? Jesus has commissioned his followers to represent him in this world. When nonbelievers look at our lives, we want them to see people distinguished by Christlike character. When they look at churches, we want them to see outposts of God’s heavenly kingdom, early installments of the new creation. And in particular, whether they look at individual Christians or churches, we want them to notice three dominant graces faith, hope, and most of all, love. The gospel creates people who are filled with faith in Christ, captivated by the hope of eternal life, and overflowing in love for God and neighbor. In fact, at least nine passages — scattered throughout the letters of Paul, Peter, and Hebrews — mention this trio of Christian graces 1 Corinthians 1313; Galatians 55–6; Ephesians 42–5; Colossians 14–5; 1 Thessalonians 13; 58; Hebrews 610–12; 1022–24; 1 Peter 121–22. If you could travel back in time and ask New Testament believers how they live the Christian life, I expect that you would hear the same answer again and again we aim to abound in faith, hope, and love. Greatest of These First Corinthians 1313 is the most well-known passage that highlights this trio. Paul tells us, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” His claim raises an important question Why is love “the greatest” of these graces? After all, we are saved by grace through faith Ephesians 28, and we continue to grow as believers through faith in Christ and his promises. Likewise, as we look forward to Christ’s return with eager anticipation, hope fills us with joy and empowers us to persevere through suffering Romans 1212. Yet Paul tells us that love holds the highest place in this holy triad. So why is love the greatest? Let’s answer that question by approaching 1 Corinthians 1313 in three contexts. We’ll begin with the larger context of Paul’s letters, then focus more closely on this section of 1 Corinthians chapters 12–14, and finally zero in on the immediate context in 1 Corinthians 138–13. As we do so, my hope is that our hearts will be stirred up to love one another, so that our homes, our churches, and our neighborhoods would be saturated with love that spreads the fame of Christ. Faith and Hope Produce Love Several passages in Paul’s letters show us that both faith and hope produce love. We can see this connection between faith and love in Galatians 56 “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” Though we are justified by faith alone, the kind of faith that justifies never remains alone; it always works through love for others. God does not save us in order that we might remain indifferent to the needs of those around us. Rather, as the Holy Spirit begets faith in our hearts, he intends for that faith to produce countless deeds of love. Similarly, the hope that is ours in Christ leads us to love one another. In Colossians 14–5, Paul tells the Colossian believers about his gratitude for them, “since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.” The Colossian Christians loved their fellow believers, Paul says, because they knew they had a glorious hope awaiting them in heaven. They knew they would spend eternity in the presence of Christ, and this hope freed them to give of their time, their possessions, and perhaps even their lives to serve their fellow believers. Faith and hope are, in one sense, means to an even greater end, without which they would be incomplete they transform us so that our lives overflow with Christlike love. Love Builds Up the Church Now we’ll narrow our focus to the section of 1 Corinthians in which Paul says that “the greatest of these is love.” In 1 Corinthians 12–14, Paul is teaching the church about spiritual gifts. As he sorts through issues such as the variety of gifts in the church and the use of what we might call “miraculous gifts,” his great concern is for everything to be done for the building up of the church. When Christ’s people meet together for worship, everyone may bring something to contribute with this goal in mind “Let all things be done for building up” 1 Corinthians 1426. “What makes the difference between fruitless religious activity and church-strengthening service? Love.” When Christians worship God together, it’s possible for them to exercise their spiritual gifts in ways that do not build up the rest of the body. God has no desire for the church to be filled with exciting manifestations that glorify those with the gifts but fail to edify the church. And what makes the difference between fruitless religious activity and church-strengthening service? Love. Earlier in the letter, Paul wrote that “love builds up” 1 Corinthians 81. In the context of 1 Corinthians 12–14, Paul’s famous words about love in chapter 13 reveal that love is what makes the difference between Christians whose gifts build up the body and those who are just “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” 1 Corinthians 131. Because Jesus loves his church with a love “that surpasses knowledge” Ephesians 319, he desires for the members of his body to build up one another — and in order to do that, we need not only faith, and not only hope, but love. Love Will Be Greatest for Eternity A third reason why love holds the highest place in the trio of Christian graces is found in the second half of 1 Corinthians 13. In verses 8–13, Paul says that spiritual gifts such as prophecy, tongues, and knowledge are temporary provisions for the present age. In contrast, when he writes in verse 13 that “faith, hope, and love abide, these three,” he shows us that these graces are superior to the gifts because they will endure forever. In the new creation, we will continue to have faith in God and his promises, and we will continue to look forward to the future with hope. But most of all, the life of the new creation will be characterized by love, flowing through us from the God who is love 1 John 416. “As followers of Jesus, we rejoice in the hope of spending eternity in a world saturated with pure love.” In 1738, Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon entitled “Heaven Is a World of Love.” He pointed out that since heaven is God’s dwelling place, “this renders heaven a world of love; for God is the fountain of love, as the sun is the fountain of light. And therefore the glorious presence of God in heaven fills heaven with love, as the sun placed in the midst of the hemisphere in a clear day fills the world with light” Works, 8369. Furthermore, “love reigns in every heart” in heaven, as the saints abound in love for God and for one another 8373. As followers of Jesus, we rejoice in the hope of spending eternity in a world saturated with pure love. And as our lives are filled increasingly with love here, we reflect the new creation in the present, and our churches fulfill their callings as outposts of the kingdom of heaven. Our lives and our churches spread the sweet aroma of heaven as we love God and one another, for “faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Kelahiran Tuhan Yesus kembali dirayakan bersama oleh umat Gereja Indonesian Congregation Camberwell ICC di St. john Anglican Church, Camberwell. Serupa seperti tahun sebelumnya, ICC mengundang masyarakat luas dari berbagai latar belakang dan keyakinan, bukan hanya masyarakat Indonesia yang beragama yang diangkat di tahun 2014 ini adalah Hope, Faith and Love. Ketua Panitia Natal ICC Yolanda Ohello mengatakan tema tersebut ditemukannya dalam Alkitab 1 Petrus 1. “I think it’s very beautiful,” tersebut pun diwujudkan dalam berbagai bentuk penampilan dari jemaat ICC; dimulai dari tarian cantik oleh anak-anak sekolah minggu yang berpakaian seperti malaikat, sampai koor yang menyanyikan lagu-lagu khas dua anak ini berharap acara natal ICC dapat membawa kebaikan kepada semua orang yang telah terlibat dan telah cuma mau semua orang yang datang dan terlibat hari ini, baik jemaat, pelayan, hamba-hambanya; come out from here filled with hope and faith and love. Jadi dalam kehidupan sehari-hari mereka dapat dipenuhi pengharapan, iman dan dekorasi nan indah dan berwarna-warni tidak luput menghiasi seisi ruang ibadah sehingga suasana Natal pun menjadi lebih terasa. Rupanya persiapan yang dilakukan oleh seksi acara dan dekorasi, Ganda Marpaung, berlangsung kurang dari satu bulan. “Untuk acara sebenarnya ide-idenya sudah lama. Tapi saya mulai bekerja sekitar tiga minggu terakhir,” Ganda yang sudah tidak asing lagi berkiprah di berbagai acara promosi Indonesia semacam Festival Indonesia dan Pako Festa, pelayanan untuk gereja memberikan kepuasan batin tersendiri. Lagipula, pemilik Nauli Dancer ini mengaku, dirinya senang mengajar tari-tarian pada kotbahnya, Pendeta Kuncoro Rusman berharap para umat dapat menyebarkan arti Natal yang sebenarnya, yaitu kelahiran Yesus Kristus yang penuh kasih dan harapan. Hal ini dijelaskan beliau sebab banyak orang, terutama yang tumbuh di lingkungan yang tidak mengenal Tuhan, menganggap Natal sebagai hari libur maupun dekorasi berupa pohon natal, lampu yang berkelap-kelip dan Santa Klaus tersebut juga dihadiri oleh Konsul Muda Protokol dan Kekonsuleran Oldrin Lawalata yang membawa pesan dari Konsul Jendral Dewi Wahab. Di kesempatan tersebut beliau mengungkapkan rasa terimakasih KJRI kepada gereja yang telah bersama-sama menyatukan dan melayani masyarakat Indonesia yang ada di Melbourne. Tentunya beliau juga tidak lupa untuk mengucapkan selamat hari Natal dan tahun baru kepada semua orang yang Kalonta selaku Ketua Majelis ICC mengapresiasi semua komunitas yang telah hadir.  Dirinya pun berharap agar keceriaan Natal dapat membawa perdamaian dan pengharapan lengkap perayaan tanpa hidangan makan malam dan santapan penutup yang lezat. Para pengunjung pun dapat saling mengucapkan selamat Natal dan berkumpul bersama dalam kegembiraan.* GALERI FOTO * gaby foto ga/rr/tjintjinÂ

arti love faith and hope