. . . the faith and love that springs from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel . . . Colossians 1:5
On those hot, blistery Florida summer days, I remember as a teenager going with my friends to the local springs to swim. With it 95 degrees or more in the shade, the year-long 70 degree water was always a bit chilly at first. The shallow end of the spring was much warmer as the sun was able to make a difference in the shallow. But the deeper you swam, the closer you came to the spring, the colder that water would get.
I remember swimming near the sandy bottom, chasing the bluegill and becoming fixed on the bubbling of fresh water from somewhere beneath it all. It made the sand dance. When the light from the sun cast its light just right, you could see the fury of cold water mixing with the warmer water around the spring. It was truly amazing to see — and I never grew tired of that sight.
I was sad to learn recently, the spring is no longer open to the public — but is still dancing . . . it just can’t help it!
God has given us an abundance of love and faith and it, too, springs from hope. It dances . . . it just can’t help it! The difference is, it has no measure and nothing can contain it. It stretches as far as the east is from the west. It is the strength we need in pressing forward, to pursue the desires of our heart, to obtain our God-given dreams.
Lord Jesus, my faith has been tested on many levels. My hope has been battered by storms in my life. Restore in my heart, in my mind, the truth about your hope. The truth that says your love and faith force themselves from your hope — because it just can’t help it! As you live in me and I in you, may I remember when things feel bleak that your springs are bubbling in my soul with an abundance, uncontainable love to which I find your hope in all things.
But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. . . The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:5-6