Love hopes all things

When I was a child I spoke as a child. I understood as a child. I reasoned as a child. When I was grown, I put away childish things. Now we see as through a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known. And faith, hope, and love remain, these three. But the greatest of these is love. (Paul, 1 Cor 13:11-13)

In Paul's much-quoted passage about spiritual gifts and spiritual maturity, I do not always credit that faith, hope, and love are seen as having the most potential for maturity in our spirituality. When it comes to hope, it's easy for me to get caught up in what I see: it's not necessarily cause for hope. But "we see as through a glass, darkly." I don't see everything there is to see, and what I do see isn't always seen clearly. And I get caught up in what I know. "I know in part," and tend to forget how much can be missed. 

Earlier, Paul had mentioned some characteristics of love. It included: "Love hopes all things." I can become resigned or even cynical, in a distrust of hope. I can tell myself that the lack of hope is realism. If so, it's a kind of "realism" which overlooks the reality that a situation might be transformed. I can assume that "what we see now" and "what we know now" is the final word, forgetting the limits of what we see and what we know. If "love hopes all things", then it is right that I allow myself to hope the best for all people, even if hope seems like a longshot.