1 Corinthians 13:13
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

What is the difference between Faith and Hope and as the song says, what's love got to do with it? More on love in a later entry.
Faith is the “substance” of things hoped for.  Clearly, faith has something that hope does not have. It has substance. It has evidence. It is a step beyond hope. An example might help understand this better.

In the business world, I often call meetings where I send out email invites to multiple people. Most people respond by accepting or declining the meeting notice. For those that accept the invitation, I have faith that they will attend because I have “evidence”, their response, that they have given me.

Sometimes people, however, do not respond either way. But based on my history with certain people, I know that they are often very busy and even though they do not respond, they will show up anyway. I do not have their assurance or evidence or word that they will attend but I know how they operate and their character so I have a hopeful confidence that they will attend.

Many times as we pray about something we will cling to a promise from God’s word and have an assurance that God is speaking to us through His word. That word is "substance" which we add to our hope in God and that is faith. Or maybe God will give you a sign that makes an impression on your heart and you know it is God sending a personal message to you about your situation. The sign is the evidence which elevates hope into faith.

Sometimes you do not have this evidence but you know how God operates because you know Him and His character. You have learned to expect God to behave in certain ways. This is the foundation for Hope.
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Hope = Belief + Knowledge of the person
​Faith = Belief + Knowledge of person + Evidence

Rev 3:17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.[l] Therefore be [m]zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”

​In this message we have a comparison of the value of worldly riches and worldly success with the value of riches and success in the spiritual realm. In the natural, the church of Laodicea was very wealthy. Laodicea was a banking center. They minted coins and even refused the wealth of the Rome when their city needed to be rebuilt after an earthquake.

When Jesus talks to them he says that even though they were wealthy by worldly standards that they are actually spiritually poor. Jesus speaks as if success in the outward is meaningless compared to wealth in the spiritual.


He says to get refined gold, spiritual wealth, to be rich. Refined meaning a life cleansed of impurities. Jesus then tells them that He wants to dine with them. He wants a personal relationship with them. These are the things to make one wealthy.


It reminds me of the classic movie, It is a Wonderful Life. A young George Bailey has dreams of being a success by the world standards. He wants to build skyscrapers, travel the world and have a million dollars by the time he is thirty. When he does not achieve these goals he becomes bitter and angry at life. George thinks he is a failure and that his life has amounted to nothing.


Even though George is not achieving the worldly success, he is developing a wealth which money can not buy and that is deep friendships. George's eyes are opened to this reality when he finds himself in a desperate situation and his friends rescue him in his darkest hour.


In one of the closing lines of the movie, surrounded by friends, they toast him by saying. "To George, the richest man in town."


Jesus is telling us that in order to be rich, we need to have the inward wealth of a refined life with no impurities and a deep relationship with Him. This will make us "the richest people in town".