The Power of Three

There is something strangely powerful about the number three. It is the smallest number needed to create a pattern, and our minds naturally respond to things in threes. Stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Time has past, present, and future. Even Scripture repeatedly uses this rhythm: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Peter, James, and John; “Holy, holy, holy.” But perhaps the most beautiful three is this: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). And when Jesus unpacks love, another pattern of three appears. We are to love God “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37), and that love reaches three directions: God, our neighbour, and ourselves. But love is not merely something to understand. It must be lived. Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (John 15:9). The Father loves Jesus. Jesus loves us. We remain in that love and pass it on. Perhaps that is the real power of three: love received, love lived, love shared. “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Today, don’t merely know God’s love. Receive it, live it, and give it. (Craig B). Open Bible – bit.ly/1Co13v13, bit.ly/mat22v37, bit.ly/Joh15v9, bit.ly/Ecc4v12