Three Great Virtues…

Welcome to another of this year’s Doug’s 12 Days of Christ-mas, at the intersection of the song, the children’s game, tradition, culture, and Christ-mas. If you’ve missed a few, check your in-box from yesterday, or ping Doug@doughowe.com. Today. “Three…”

On the 3rd day of Christmas, the “French hens” had to do with Latin, chicken, Gallus gallus, France, Gallic profiling, fowl, and homonyms, and they weren’t the important part of the rhyme, or the game. The “three” were the big deal, the great Three Virtues, “Faith, Hope, and Love.” Wouldn’t be great if our lives, our days, our relationships were filled with faith, hope, and love?!

Faith. The definition of faith explains it all:

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not yet seen.”
– Hebrews 11:1

As a left-brain guy, I like it said another way,

“Faith holds on to what reason has accepted,
and does not allow doubts to master us.”
– Dewey Bertolini

Hope. Two great quotes from the wonderfully riveting and overlooked-by-Oscar movie, “The Shawshank Redemption,” capturing the labyrinthical nature of hope:

“Hope is a dangerous thing.”
– Otis “Red” Redding

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.”
– Andy Dufresne

Love. Paul said “the greatest of these is love.” Dang, how great would it be if all people – especially people of faith – were known for true love! And I love this definition of God’s unconditional and unyielding love for you and me, which satisfies my brainiac need to marry the softness of love with the bottom line in work, business, life, transactions, battles, and ambitions:

“God loves us for who we are,
not who we should be.
God sees us for who we could be,
not just who we are.”
– Brennan Manning

I hope your Christ-mas season this year is filled with Faith, Hope, and Love. Thanks for coming along for these 12 Days of Christ-mas with me. We’re getting close the finale! See you tomorrow, for “Two…” -Doug

12th Day…
…Good morning aviators, 12 points of the Creed.
11th Day…
…Baker’s miracle, 11 faithful disciples/learners.
10th Day…
…Ten Commandments, actually just two.
9th Day…
…Laker Girls, 9 fruits of the Spirit.
8th Day…
…The Sermon on the Mount, 8 Beatitudes.
7th Day…
…Swans are graceful, as are those who use their Gifts for good
6th Day…
…He Created the first six days; Then a Real Rest.
5th Day…
…Belt it out! The First Fiiive Books of the Bible.
4th Day…
….Four perspectives/camera angles of Christ.
3rd Day…
…Three Great Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Love.
2nd Day…
1st Day…