“We always thank God for all of you when we mention you constantly in our prayers. This is because we remember your work that comes from faith, your effort that comes from love, and your perseverance that comes from hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of God our Father.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-4, CEB)
I sometimes gloss over the beginnings of Paul’s letters because I feel like I’ve read it all before. “I gives thanks for you yada, yada, yada.” But these verses stopped me yesterday because so often our (and certainly my) theology tends to reverse the words written here. Notice that work comes from faith, effort comes from love, and perseverance comes from hope. Isn’t the case that we often think it’s the other way around? We believe that if we work hard enough, then we’ll have faith. If we give a harder effort, then we’ll receive love. If we keep on keeping on, then we’ll experience hope. But that’s not what the text says.
The foundation of God’s belief in us is this: faith, love, hope. Paul uses these three words again in a more familiar text (at least to those who have been to weddings): “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13, NRSV). Once we receive these things and trust that they’re offered with no strings attached, that propels us to persevere, work, and expend effort on God’s behalf. It’s a much better way to live out our faith.