The triad of virtues – faith, hope and love – is not only the end and summit of John’s Ladder but also its beginning. John states:

A strong faith is the mother of renunciation!

Unswerving hope is the gateway to detachment!

Genuine love of God is the foundation of exile!

Many people do not understand why faith is a virtue, for faith is usually understood as nothing more than believing in something that cannot be proven. But when we speak of faith as a Christian virtue, we are speaking of something more specific than this. It is not a virtue toi believe, for example, that what so-and-son told me is true or that the weather will be good tomorrow despite the gloomy forecast. Faith, or belief, does not mean gullibility. Unfortunately many think of religious faith in this way. But that kind of faith is far too rudimentary to deserve a place at the top of the ladder of Christian virtues. Faith as “the evidence of things not seen” is the beginning of faith, but not its end.

Faith, like hope and love, truly describes our relationship with God. The reason faith lies at the summit of the Ladder is that it both shapes our relationship with God and, at the same time, is the fruit of that relationship. It is therefore better understood as trust, faithfulness, loyalty and dedication. The more we come to know God, the more we trust in Him and the more we dedicate ourselves to Him. And yet, the greater our faith, the more we grow in the other virtues. We cannot begin to ascend the Ladder without faith, and yet the higher we ascend, the more faith increases.

Unfortunately, many Christians think that our faith is placed in the Church. It must be placed in the Person of our Triune God. The main purpose of the Church is to assist us in building our relationship with God. One of the tasks of this earthly life is to grow in our trust and faith in our God and His great love for us!