"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love." 1 Corinthians 13:13a

I've often wondered why 'hope' is in the middle. There's Faith on the one side - Faith with it's strength, setting a foundation. There's Love at the end - Love as a benediction, a blessing, put at the end and recognized as the greatest of the three. Then there's Hope. And Hope is in the middle. It is neither foundation nor benediction. So what is it?

It's location in the sentence is symbolic of what hope is, for hope is most needed in the middle. I need hope most when I am in the middle of a crisis. At the beginning my adrenaline kicks in and I go on autopilot, doing what I need to do to survive.  Towards the end of a crisis, I know I have gone through the worst and I have survived. But in the middle? In the middle I am at the end of myself. There seems to be no future and no help. This is where I need hope.

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