Living a Life of Faith, Love, and Hope: Lessons from 1 and 2 Thessalonians

I’m beginning to notice a recurring theme as I study the writings of Paul. Are you? I’m talking about Faith, Hope, and Charity (or Love).

Here, take a look:

In addition, Paul mentions faith and hope together without love 15 times, and faith and love together without hope 14 times. So, in total, Paul mentions faith, love, and hope together or in pairs 48 times in his writings. Paul mentions faith 93 times in his writings, love 174 times, and hope 49 times. These are just the occurrences of the nouns “faith,” “love,” and “hope.” Paul also uses the verbs “to believe,” “to love,” and “to hope” many times throughout his letters.

It’s clear that faith, love, and hope were central to Paul’s theology and ministry. This thought or principle of applying Faith, Hope, and Charity in our lives is not taught by Paul alone but plays a central role in finding happiness in this life and in the life to come.

Living a life of Faith, Hope, and Charity takes practice, and no one is perfect at it. I often find myself asking the question, “How?” How do I have charity or apply love? How does applying hope or having hope increase my faith? How do I apply hope, love, and faith in the situations I find myself in?

I was watching the“Don’t Miss This” podcast for Philippians and Colossians, and in it, Grace Freeman talks about friendship. She gives the analogy of 5-minute friends or someone you can spend 5 minutes with and say everything you need to, weekend friends who always have fun plans for the weekend and are great to spend a weekend with but outside of that, you don’t think much about them. Then there are the 24-hour friends, the people you want to spend every minute with, who you want to share your life with. I think the first step in evaluating and living a life of Faith, Hope, and Charity is to evaluate the type of relationship we have with the Savior. Do we recognize Him when He shows up in our lives and acknowledge Him then? Do we casually spend a few hours with Him on Sunday? Or is He the kind of friend that we want to share our life with?

To be honest, in my life, He has been all three. But to live a life of Faith, Hope, and Charity, you need to see Him in a new light. If you are a 5-minute or weekend friend, the steps to make Him a 24-hour friend are easy. First, you gotta want to. To have a lasting, loving relationship with the Savior takes effort on our part. It means finding the time to invite Him into our lives through study and prayer, paying attention in church and in our classes, preparing and prepping for lessons in advance. Stop making excuses for what you can’t and start looking for reasons why you can. Acknowledge the good that comes from Him. As you make an effort to invite the Savior into your life, the relationship will naturally and quickly develop.

First, Charity and Love. Charity is selfless love or love that is given freely without any expectations in return. Growing up, my friend’s mom was a perfect example of Charity. Sister Lever always had a smile on her face, and she could always be found serving someone. I remember many times going over to their house, and she was in the middle of preparing a meal or baking something for a neighbor. She served with love in the primary, and I never heard her raise her voice. Loving others or having Charity is a mental mindset and requires effort to look at others in a different light. We call each other Brother and Sister, but having charity requires seeing each other in that light. We are all children of God, and having charity for one another requires a belief in that doctrine.

When we moved into our current house, I had been sick for a few months. I was able to lift and move a few things, but the more effort I put out, the more exhausted I became. When it came time to move the piano, Shauna and I were at a loss as to how we would get it in the house. Before we knew it, a neighbor showed up and what felt like single-handedly lifted the piano into the house. Charity is an action word. It requires putting others’ needs on the same level as your personal needs. When someone cuts you off in traffic or is not as nice as you would expect in line at a store, charity requires empathy to see them in a different light, to immediately forgive them, and to show forth empathy and compassion.

Hope is a focus or a mindset. It’s looking for the positive or seeing things through “Rose Colored Glasses.” While this can be difficult, it’s important to remember there is always something to be grateful for. I have a cousin who is a great example of this. She has the ability to see hope and to project hope. She has been through so many things, and she and her husband have been an example to me of being able to see past the bad and look for good and to project that positivity out into the world.

If you are lacking hope, something you can do is look for the positives in what you’re going through, pray for hope, make a gratitude list, surround yourself with positive people, focus on your positive self-talk, and dismiss the negative voice in your head. Spend some time outside, go for a walk or hike. Hope is a very internal process and can be very hard to have, so don’t beat yourself up if you are not successful at first or if you have bad days. But focus on what you did that brought hope and try again tomorrow. Day by day practicing hope will by nature increase the hope in your life.

I don’t often talk about it, but when I first met Shauna, I tried to take my life. When I first saw her, I was told that she was going to be the woman I would marry, and I could not see how anyone could love me. I was in such a dark place, Shauna had invited me to hang out with some of her friends, and the evening was really enjoyable. But that only made me feel worse because I did not believe I deserved to be happy, let alone have a friend who cared for me and wanted to spend time with me. I didn’t want to make it look obvious, so I decided to be very reckless in my driving. I ran every red light. On the freeway, I cut off every car and semi I could and would slam my brakes in front of them. I tried to get in an accident that would end my life, but as hard as I tried, the other drivers would stop in enough time or pull away just as I passed, and I made it home.

The next morning, bright and early, I walked into the office, and there Shauna was. The minute I saw her, I was so grateful I was unsuccessful in my dangerous attempts. I decided then and there that she was enough reason for me to try. She was the hope I needed in the sea of darkness I had been swimming in for so long. I tried every day to look for something else that I could use as a reason to keep soldiering on, and the more I looked for it, the easier it became to hope. Hope needs to be nurtured, but with it, life becomes rich and rewarding.

“Faith is like a little seed, if planted it will grow.” Faith is trust in God, even when we don’t understand what He is doing. Faith is essential for living a Christian life. One way to apply faith is to pray regularly. Putting your hopes and needs out into the universe, trusting that someone is out there listening, moves us beyond just thinking of ourselves and helps us to focus our priorities on someone who is greater than us and can help if we can trust Him to do so. Faith is going to church when you don’t feel like it. Faith is trusting the little voice in your head that says, “Yes, this feels right and it feels good.” Faith is saying hi to your neighbor you haven’t met. It is trust in a higher power, in God. Alma uses the analogy of a seed. When you first plant it, you do not see immediate results; it requires repetition of watering before you see results. Soon the little stem will show, and as you continue to nurture it, the seed once so small will grow and produce fruit. Had you given up on it when you first planted it and not taken the time to care for it, you would never be able to see the rewards.

Put effort into Christ, spend time learning about Him, pray, and take time to make Him a 24-hour friend, someone you can trust and rely on. No matter what situation you are facing, faith, hope, and love can help you get through it. Remember that you are never alone and that God is always with you. Start to practice having faith, live hope, and give love. It can make all the difference in your life.

Take a minute to think about the following questions:

How has faith, hope, and charity collectively influenced your life’s journey and your relationship with the Savior?
Can you recall a specific moment when these principles played a significant role in your life?
In what ways do you practice faith, hope, and charity in your daily interactions with others?
Reflecting on your relationship with the Savior, how has it shaped your understanding and practice of these principles?

As we ponder the profound teachings of faith, hope, and charity found in 1 and 2 Thessalonians and throughout the writings of Paul, lets remember that these principles are not abstract concepts but living guides for our daily lives. They invite us to continually nurture our relationship with the Savior, to cultivate unwavering faith, to embrace hope even in the darkest of hours, and to practice charity—selfless love—as we interact with those around us. As we collectively seek to live a life of faith, hope, and charity, may we find the strength and grace to navigate life’s challenges and experience the richness of God’s love in every moment. We invite you to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below, and together, let’s embark on this journey of faith, hope, and charity.

Living a Life of Faith, Love, and Hope: Lessons from 1 and 2 Thessalonians

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