Against such anxiety we have to throw the forces of hope. And in that way we fight the fight of faith, and drive away the greed and self-pity of hopelessness and open the gates of love. And so hope is the power for holy love. A second way that hope empowers love is what we might call the inevitability of imitation. You always tend to imitate the people you admire most and desire most strongly to be around.
Kids tend to dress and walk and talk like their heroes.
And so do we adults, though we are less blatant about it. A person who hopes intensely in Jesus Christ, who longs to see him and be with him, will inevitably start to think and feel and act like Jesus. Strong hope to see Jesus is a strong power for holy love. Finally, one other way that hope empowers holy love is by giving the assurance of God's blessing and care which we need in order to follow through on some of his specific hard commands. We do not hope fully in God's promise.