Last dinner in Delhi

Faith, hope & charity (Part 1)

When I was a girl I had a charm bracelet that I’d received as a Christmas gift from my parents. One of the first charms I received for that bracelet was a charm of a cross, an anchor and a heart – representing faith (cross), hope (anchor) and charity/love (heart.)

The trio served as a visual reminder of the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter):

And now abide, faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I’m thinking of this charm as I prepare my presentations for the conferences in India. My opening talk will focus on Sarah who with her husband Abraham are the “parents” of faith in the Bible. Despite their age and history and the total impossibility of the whole idea, they believed that God would somehow fulfil his promise that their descendants would number as the stars. They were both pushing 100 and had not managed to produce a child to that point. The whole plan was so ridiculous Sarah laughed out loud when she heard it.

But still they believed and hoped and ultimately the promise was fulfilled with the birth of Isaac. And their faith was counted to them as righteousness. (Romans 4:13-22 ). Amazing isn’t it?