Dear friends,

I always wondered why Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13 wrote that these three will always remain: faith, hope and love. Paul was probably asked on what are the three most important things that he could share to people and he answered these three virtues. Indeed, we need these three virtues as we go through life.

First, we need someone to put our faith into. As Christians, we put our faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Without this faith, we do not have any foundation to base our lives. Our faith in Jesus gives us direction in life.

Second, we need to hope because it gives us the reason to continue on living. Without hope, we become discouraged and depressed. We do not want to go on. But if we have hope, we wake up every day with a purpose because we want to make that hope a reality. Our dreams and hopes are what fuels us to strive to make a difference. We need to hope for something better than what we have inherited, and work hard to make it a reality. If we put our hope in Jesus, we can surely say, “The best is yet to come.”

Third, we desire to love and to be loved. It is love that gives meaning to our life. It is love that brought us together with our life partners. It is love that propels us to take care of our children. It is love that gives us the passion to do the best that we can to provide for our family. It is the love of Jesus that he died for our sins. For certain, to love God and others is the greatest commandment.

As we go through life, let us remember these three things: have faith in God, always hope for the best, and love God and others.

May God bless us all!

Sincerely,

Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on

Director
Office of Communications
Central Philippine University