April 11 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the beginning of a new life for all believers. It's also the pledge of our resurrection (1 Cor. 15). The study of Colossians is part of this month's meditations on the meaning of the resurrection.

Bible Reading:

Colossians 1:3–8

Bible Text:

We always thank God ... [for] the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven (Col. 1:3, 5).

Devotional:

Half a dozen times in the New Testament we find the trio of faith, hope, and love—the three outstanding gifts possessed by all Christians of all times. Love is the greatest of the three. By faith we receive Christ, in hope we reach forward to him, but in love we experience Christ's presence here and now (see 1 Cor. 13).

But although love may be the greatest, you can never have the one without the other two. Without Christian faith there can be no Christian love. And unless there is hope, Christian faith is stifled.

In this text the emphasis falls on hope. Faith and love spring from hope, Paul says. The Colossians have faith and love because they have hope!

Hope is an openness to the future. When the door of hope opens, the goodness of the future streams into our lives, and faith and love are the results. Hope fixes itself on Christ. The goodness that awaits us after our pilgrimage will be poured out when we meet Christ.

Hope is a periscope. When land is sighted, confidence enters, the crew of the ship relaxes, and someone begins to sing. For faith and love result from hope.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.