Faith, Hope, and __________

       When you read today's Flat Tire title most of us quickly filled in the blank with the word love. If the word charity came to mind to finish off this scripture from I Corinthians 13:13 then you would also be correct. The actual scripture reads like this "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." So what if we go with the idea that love and charity are interchangeable, what does that do to the core meaning of this word love that we throw around so casually? Well, one definition of the word charity is, "generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering" which is the one I want to focus on in our time together.
      From a Christian stance, if we are truly seeking to be more like our Father in Heaven then we need not look any further than the life of caring for the needy and suffering that Jesus provided. As you read through the New Testament in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John there is a constant theme of Jesus reaching out to and meeting the needs of the sick, the blind, the deaf, the lame, and the poor. His actions were true visual definitions of the word charity and provide us with an example for our own lives today. 
     Paul talks in great detail about what his life would be like without love in this 13th chapter of I Corinthians. He basically says his life would be without meaning if not for love. Earlier in what is often called the love chapter of the Bible, Paul goes deep in the details of what love is and how it should look in our lives. Paul says that "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." So, how does all of this relate to the word charity? How should we be showing charity today in the world in which we live? 
     The charity my Bible talks about is a love that gives from the heart, not just from our billfolds. We can give to charities, we can offer our assistance to a non-profit organization, but at the end of the day if we don't do these things with compassion for our fellow man then the Word says we might as well be sounding off like a big gong or cymbal. We will make a great deal of noise and people will look at us, but after the sound fades will our efforts have truly made a difference if love wasn't at the core of our decision to give? Love is colorblind. Love doesn't only take care of those that look just like you do. Love is given because it was first given to us. If we only received love or charity because of some criteria man creates then I am afraid we would not be able to qualify for that same type of love from our Father if He chose to use our list of criteria. 
     We are loved even though we do not deserve the type of love that was given to us. May we reflect on how our heart demonstrates charity and ask ourselves do we truly love or do we only love when and where it is convenient? My prayer is that the same love that God gave you with the life and death of His Son Jesus for our sins is the love that will drive you to charity for all of His children. Amen.
Coach Carter