The Trinity

How do you explain or understand the Trinity; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? On a Christian talk show, I heard a gentleman say, “The biggest problem Muslims have with Christianity is that they think we worship three Gods.” That made me think about normal Christian conversation or even some preaching I have heard about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It made me think that possibly some Christians do consider them separate beings.

I have often heard Christians pray to Jesus. However, in many places in Scripture, Jesus Himself told us to pray to the Father. In Matthew 6:9-13, the passage we call the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus said, “This is how you should pray, Our Father in Heaven…” In John 15:16 Jesus said, “Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.” Jesus directs us to pray to the Father and yet Jesus said in John 10:30, “The Father and I are One.” The Trinity remains a mystery to us.

We all recognize there are things in Scripture that we cannot totally explain. In Isaiah 55:9 God said, “My ways are higher than your ways, My thoughts higher than your thoughts.” So, we accept the fact that we cannot totally understand the Trinity.

While I was pondering this, I thought about a parallel in our own lives that we can understand. There are also multiple parts to us. There is the body, or “tent” as Paul called it, but we recognize it is not the same thing as who we are. In the movie Avatar, there is a conversation I believe points this out. The girl says to the main character, “Do you see me?” He says, “Yes I see you. You are right in front of me.” He is thinking of her physical presents, or “tent”. But then she says, “No, do you see me?” She was talking about her inner self. Did he really know her?

So, we have a body and we have an inner self, or our spirit. When we become a Christian, we also have the Holy Spirit living within us and guiding our spirit. He is separate, but within us to guide and help us understand God’s ways. I have come to recognize another part of me. I am an adult, thinking and acting like an adult, but there is a child living within this being we call Tom. Many times, the “cares of the world” seems big and scary and make us feel like a child in need of our Father’s protection. I believe that part of us is what Jesus was talking about when He said in Matthew 18:3, “Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of God.”

Without all of our “parts” we cannot fulfill the call and purpose He has for our life. If my relationship to the Father is not one of a child, I will never truly know His guidance, love and caring like a child does with their parents. If I am not an adult, I could not touch the world with the gifts He gives me according to His purposes for me. If I don’t let the Spirit lead my every thought and action, I will fall short of God’s best for me. If I didn’t have a body, or tent, there would be no place for “me” to dwell in this world.

These thoughts don’t clarify the Trinity for me, but they do make me realize how completely reasonable the concept of our Triune God is. There are three parts in one Holy God. Praise Him for the wonder of it all.