Colossians 1:3-6

3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

New Living Translation

According to this passage, faith in Jesus and love for people both come from a confident hope in what God has promised to give us in Heaven. So, just what is this promise, and why does it produce faith and love?

In short, the promise is that we will be with God for eternity. We will also be rewarded for what we have done, and we will have a wonderful home beyond our wildest imagination, and we will reign with Him forever. The beauty and wonder of Heaven is described as something beyond our comprehension. There will be no pain or suffering. It will be an eternity of joy, peace, and the most fulfilling occupation possible, though I'm not entirely sure what that will be!

I wonder, how does this guarantee of heavenly rewards and blissful closeness to God Himself produce faith and love?

The love part is easier to explain. Knowing that I'm promised more than I could ever get for myself inspires me to stop fighting for all I can get now. I can have confidence that no matter how much I accumulate in this life, it is all going to seem worthless once I'm in Heaven. It is much easier to love other people when I don't have to worry about taking care of myself.

It is a bit more difficult to understand how this promise produces faith in Jesus. It seems like it should be the opposite - faith in Jesus should give me confidence in this promise. In my way of thinking, I have hope in Heaven because I believe in Jesus.

But apparently, the reverse is true as well. Because I have a confident hope in Heaven and all it's glory, I am free from selfish concern for self. Not only does this free me to love others, it also allows me to devote myself completely to Jesus. I can love Him, serve Him, worship Him, and grow in faith because of my complete confidence in what He is going to give me. Concern for myself is removed from the equation, because I'm guaranteed to have more than I could ever imagine.

The more complete my confidence in His promise, the deeper and stronger my faith can grow. I am able to have more faith, because the chains of self centered desires and self preservation are broken.

Lord Jesus...increase my confidence in Your promises! Help my faith and love to grow stronger and deeper with each passing day!