The Triune Godhead- Blessed Trinity

God is not schizophrenic. 

Thought that might grab your attention! Hopefully all of you, my faithful readers, (all five of you... hee hee), agree with that statement. What you may not realize, is that somewhere along the way in your 'Christian walk', you have been taught exactly that. Not intentionally, I would hope, but well meaning believers teach us all kinds of crap (no offense) that is exactly opposite of what is true. They teach it logically and subtly, so that we don't even realize that our belief system is being penetrated by what is false. In fact they teach it, because somewhere along the line, someone else taught it to them.

The problem comes in when we ponder the trinity. God the Father, God the son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. Logically we understand that they are all one. They are three-in-one. One God, three Persons. Okay, don't ponder too hard right now, or I might lose some of you. (And there aren't enough of you to lose!!) Like I said, we understand it- logically. But the problem is this: what we really believe about the Trinity comes out when we think about the individual persons.

Jesus. I LOVE Jesus. I have always loved Jesus. Jesus is my favorite! He is so kind, and generous, and loving, and merciful! I love to think about about Jesus, and spend time with Jesus, and tell people about Jesus and how much He loves them. Jesus is Lord!! What would Jesus do? Jesus is my homeboy! Jesus saves! Jesus forgives! Jesus loves you!

(HA HAAAA!!!! That paragraph was very fun to write. Seriously.)

Most Christians would automatically agree. The rest might not be Christians. (Jus' sayin'! ) Okay, so now let's think about the Father...

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Hey, I wasn't writing a crazy stereotype paragraph about the Father! Are you crazy?? He might strike me down!

Well, some of you think that way. He's a father, but the really strict kind of father who will beat you with a stick if you step out of line. The 'one chance' God- you fall once, you're outta here! The kind of father who hates sinners. The kind of father who would abandon his son at the hour of his execution. The kind of father who would choose some to spend eternity with him, but not others. The kind of father who will send you to burn in hell- for eternity.

Ouch. It makes me really sad to think that people see my Father that way. Because it is a lie. All of it.

Let me tell you some things that Jesus said.

John 10:30- "The Father and I are one."

John 14:9-11- "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father... The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me..."

There's tons more, but those two verses get my point across. What is the point? The point is that Jesus and the Father are one. All the things you love about Jesus- his kindness, his mercy, his generosity, etc.- are things you can and should love about the Father. Like I said, God is not schizophrenic. He's not 'loving' when he's Jesus, yet 'vengeful' or 'angry' when he's the Father. They are ONE. Some scriptures show us that Jesus has a sense of humor. (That may shock some of you to hear. Read the book. It's in there.) That means the Father has a sense of humor. And Holy Spirit has a sense of humor. Shocking revelations, I know. Oh, Holy Spirit. Some of you are so afraid of grieving him, that you're afraid to engage with him! Guess what... if you could hang out with Jesus at a wedding in Cana, drinking the 'water turned into wine' with him, what makes you think Holy Spirit doesn't like to have fun? Or maybe you think that Jesus would have been better behaved if the Father had attended that wedding? He turned water into wine- for people who were already drunk. You may think I'm going too far, but the truth is, I'm trying to shock some sense into you! 

When Jesus healed the sick, so did the Father.

When Jesus hung out with tax collectors and sinners, so did the Father.

When Jesus sat and had a chat with the Samaritan-divorced-living-with-a-man-outside-of-marriage-reject-of-society-woman, so was the Father.

When Jesus was moved with compassion at the funeral of Lazarus and wept, so did the Father.

When Jesus told the disciples to drop the net on the other side of the boat, and they hauled in an enormous catch, the Father was right there cheering them on.

When Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished", so did the Father.

I could go on and on and on. Jesus is so awesome! And so is the Father! 

So, when you feel overwhelmed in your heart when you think about what Jesus sacrificed for you when he died on the cross, remember: the Father did those things, too.

Jesus is not standing in front of the throne begging the Father not to destroy us. The Father is consumed with love for us! All his thoughts about you are for your welfare and how he can prosper you. I think it's a happy time in the throne room. 

One more scripture... (Don't worry, it's a good one!)

John 17:20-24 (Jesus praying)- 'I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world."

Part of this prayer that gets overlooked, is how Jesus says plainly that the Father loves us the way he loves Jesus. How much do you think the Father loves Jesus? Think about that. How much do you think God the Father (who is love) loves his only begotten Son- who never sinned, and always obeyed the Father. Do you think he loves Jesus a lot? Well guess what... Jesus said that the Father loves you that much. And because they are one, it was the Father also declaring it to you. It was the Father saying, "I love you as I love Jesus!"  Another verse in this passage gives us a glimpse into how the Father loves us. If he loves us the same as he loves Jesus, then according to verse 24, he has loved us since the foundation of the world.

If Jesus is a man of Joy, don't you think the Father is happy? If Jesus is merciful, don't you think the Father is merciful? You get the point. (I hope.) In some ways, we have to stop comparing God and His Kingdom to earthly parallels. They can never truly compare to God, and they might lead us to some negative conclusions about God that simply aren't true. An earthly parallel will only work to a certain point. The best way to learn about God, is from him. He's better than you think!