17. The Tree of Faith, Hope and Love
Faith, hope and love connect to each other like the component parts of a great tree …
Throughout most of the chapters of this book we have mainly looked at faith, hope and love individually, but we should always remember that these three qualities constantly interact with each other in our lives.
Even while we have focused on them individually, we have repeatedly seen scriptures in which two or more of the three qualities interact in some way. In some cases we even find scriptures that imply we cannot have one quality without the others (Galatians 5:5-6, Colossians 1:5, etc.).
To understand this fact it is helpful to use a simple analogy. Metaphorically, we might say that the three qualities of faith, hope and love function like the parts of a great growing tree. Faith comprises the roots of this tree, hope its trunk, and love its flowering and fruiting branches. It's a simple analogy, but one that we can profitably think about.
The Roots of Faith – nourish our growth: "But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream…" (Jeremiah 17:7-8); "rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith …" (Colossians 2:7). The Trunk of Hope – strengthens or supports our growth: "You wearied yourself by such going about, but you would not say, 'It is hopeless.' You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint" (Isaiah 57:10); "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength …" (Isaiah 40:31).
The Fruiting Branches of Love – manifest our growth: "so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work" (Colossians 1:10). This last mentioned scripture is of particular interest because, in context, we might say it relates to all three parts of our "tree." Notice the full scripture:
"… bearing fruit in every good work [love], growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power [faith] according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience [hope]" (Colossians 1:10-11, parenthetical comments added). Using our analogy, it is clear that if we successfully attack or dig up the roots of a tree, the whole plant will soon die. If we cut down the trunk of the tree, the roots may die and the fruiting branches certainly will. Finally, if the fruiting branches themselves are cut off, the tree itself may not die, but it will stand useless and essentially lifeless with neither purpose nor productivity.
The same kind of thing happens with faith, hope and love. If our faith is weakened or destroyed, our whole spiritual life will suffer. If our hope is eroded or lost, we lose faith and love. And if our love is diminished, our faith and hope become barren and meaningless.
On the other hand, increasing one of the three great qualities often helps increase one or more of the others. As we will see in the following chapters, increased faith invariably leads to increased hope in our lives, and increasing our hope really can lead to an increase in the love we feel and express.
When we understand that principle, we can better understand what Paul tells us in Galatians and Colossians. Faith, hope and love connect to – and interact on – each other like the component parts of a great tree. When one part grows, so do the others; when one part declines, so do the others. But when faith, hope or love grows within us, we invariably see the others increase in our lives, too. And when they do, we see that the "tree" of faith, hope and love is truly a tree of life.