Join me for a moment here, and come up with some famous three-somes. C’mon, give it a go….Your age will determine who you think of, but perhaps you considered:

• the 3 Stooges
• 3 Musketeers
• 3 Amigos
• 3 bears
• 3 little pigs
• the BeeGees??? 🙂

The Three Stooges

Or how about things that come in 3’s:

• 3 goals – a hat trick
• 3 R’s (reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmetic)
• 3 ring circus
• 3 strikes – in baseball
• 3 trimesters of pregancy
• 3 parts of an atom – proton, neutron, electron
• 3 personality parts – id, ego and super-ego
• 3 parts of the earth – core, mantle & crust
• 3 notes in a triad/chord

triads in music

We could go on, but the point is made – that it seems like everything comes in 3’s. Here’s one more for our consideration today –

But for right now,… we have 3 things to do … Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the 3 is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13 The Message Paraphrase

FAITH. HOPE. LOVE.

This verse has been referred to as “the triad of faith, hope and love.” Here is yet, another famous 3, and way more important, too.

The wisest man to have lived also spoke of 3’s. Look what he said,

A 3 strand rope isn’t easily snapped.”

Ecclesiates 4:12 The Message Paraphrase

Look what he is declaring – 1 strand is good, 2 strands are better and stronger, but with 3 starands, a rope will not be easily or quickly be snapped. This is insightful as we apply it to the triad, so let’s do so.

Consider if you will, you are that rope. In order for you to not snap and break easily or quickly, there must be woven into you 3 strands. 3 strands of truth in your life will keep you from easily snapping and breaking. One strand of truth is good, 2 strands are better and will make you even stronger, but 3 strands of truth will keep you from snapping altogether.

The triad shows us that faith, or as the wise man called it, “trusting steadily in God” is the first strand of truth in our life, and that one strand is good. It is good for us to trust in God, lean on Him and His ways, rather than our own. It is good to have that singular truth laid firm in our life. Faith is the foundation of our life, it will center us, steady us, and encourage us. (Remember, tho’, that faith requires action, it teams with work – doing, not just mental assent.) But that one strand could snap! On it’s own, it’s not strong enough.

In our triad, the next strand is hope. Hope is not wishful thinking, but a firm confidence in Jesus and His ability to come through for us today and return for us at the end of the age. Hope is our focus and our attitude. Hope is seeing beyond, and focusing on that. Hope is seeing more than today and looking to what will be. Faith and hope cemented as truths in our life will make us stronger as we walk each day with Him. But even 2 strands can be strengthened for us to avoid snapping.

Faith and hope are important truths in our life, but they won’t last forever. One day faith won’t be needed because we will see God face to face. Hope won’t be needed either, because we’ll no longer be looking for His return because He returned as He said.

But the 3rd strand of our life’s rope is love, and love is eternal, forever. There will always be love, because love is an attribute of God. 1 John 4:8 God is not faith, He doesn’t ever look to anyone else. God is not hope, he doesn’t need to hope because He knows all things. But He is love and will always be love. It has been said, “If we lose love, we lose everything.”

Love is that 3rd strand of truth in the rope of our life, that reinforces and cements our relationship with God.He will keep is from snapping.

Love, such a powerful word and yet so polluted and weakened by our society. There’s so much mixture when it comes to love, that it carries so little meaning today. Just like it was tho’, in Corinth when Paul wrote his letter to them.

So corrupt was the major city of Corinth, that Paul had to write a clear definition of what love actually was and what love actually did and what love actually was not! He wanted there to be NO question about the love of God and what it was, and what believers not only had access to but were expected to walk in. Have you read it lately? Check this portion out. He says this of God’s love: 1 Coringhtians 13:4-7 ESV

• Love is patient and kind
• love does not envy or boast
• It is not arrogant or rude
• it does not insist on its own way
• it is not irritable or resentful
• it does not rejoice at wrong doing
• but rejoices with the truth
• love bears all things
• believes all things
• endures all things

For me, it seems that no matter what stage of life I am in, I am ALWAYS so convicted by love. Who I am and how I respond does not match those characteristics listed above. Geesh! What about you?

But that doesn’t stop me from laying that strand of truth in my life. It motivates me to work on love all the more. It is the 3rd strand, but twisted together with faith and hope, I find my strength. Those 3 strands woven together in my life produce a consistent, strong, and dependable character in me that pleases the Lord. AND I don’t easily or quickly snap, break, unravel, or crack.

There’s enough going on in our lives these days to make anyone snap. And I dare say, without faith, hope and love working inside of us, a snapping we will go.

I just wonder if you would benefit from looking seriously at the rope of your life. Are you hanging on by a thread? Tying a knot at the end of the rope, and hanging on for dear life so you won’t fall off? Stop then, and consider the state of the triad in your life. Even if you’re not dangling there, this three-some is one worth integrating into your life. You will be strengthened by these 3.

How’s your faith? Who have you placed your faith in? Do you need to reestablish the foundation of faith in your life?

How’s your hope? Have you become hopeless and helpless? Have you gotten stuck in seeing only the troubles of today? Do you need to reestablish your hope in the Lord and His future for you?

How’s your love? Do you love like God loves?

But for right now,… we have 3 things to do … Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the 3 is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13 The Message Paraphrase

Faith, hope, and love, is a set of 3’s worth hanging onto and reinforcing in your life, because with these 3 strands, you won’t snap.

Love ya. Thanks for reading.

Debbie

Sources

• Life Application Study Bible 1 Corinthians 13:13
• David Guzik Commentary 1 Corinthians 13:13
• Historyplex.com/famousthreesomes
• Quora.com;Thingsthatcomeinthrees; Roshan Kumar