And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
“These things, brethren, I write unto you concerning righteousness, not because I laid this charge upon myself, but because ye invited me.
For neither am I, nor is any other like unto me, able to follow the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul, who when he came among you taught face to face with the men of that day the word which concerneth truth carefully and surely; who also, when he was absent, wrote a letter unto you, into the which if ye look diligently, ye shall be able to be builded up unto the faith given to you,
which is the mother of us all, while hope followeth after and love goeth before–love toward God and Christ and toward our neighbor. For if any man be occupied with these, he hath fulfilled the commandment of righteousness; for he that hath love is far from all sin.”
Polycarp (69-155) in his letter to the Philippians 3:1-3 (J.B. Lightfoot Translation)
Polycarp was discipled by John.
In his letter to the Philippians he reminds them that while neither he nor they could live up to the standard of the Apostle Paul, they could fulfill the command of righteousness if they occupied themselves with faith, hope, and love toward God and their neighbor.
Think about what Polycarp is saying to the Philippians (and us).
He’s saying that we can fulfill what may seem like impossible commands by simply occupying ourselves with what is good and right one step at a time. It reminds me of this expression: How do you eat an elephant? The answer, of course, is one bite at a time.
As you think about extending faith, h0pe, and love to your neighbors, what might this look like practically for you?
For example, we can be generous with encouragement, kindness, and thoughtfulness toward others. This might appear as helping them with a task. Always we think about giving them not what they deserve but what they need most in every moment.
Sometimes it might have financial implications. And always, as Polycarp notes, this will keep us from sin! Double benefit.