Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. [Matthew 28:19 (NLT)]
When my eldest grand took advanced calculus, I could neither understand what she was doing nor the purpose in doing it (other than gaining entrance into a good university). The following year, she took something called discrete math. Since I was thinking “discreet,” I couldn’t understand how numbers could be cautious or prudent. Even when she explained “discrete” means “individually separate and distinct” and discrete math is the basis for much of computer science, statistics, and programming, I remained in the dark. Fortunately, I wasn’t the one taking SATs and making application to colleges, so I didn’t need to make sense of her difficult curriculum.
Even more confusing and difficult to explain than calculus and discrete math is the concept of the Holy Trinity. Although my grand has to fully understand the concepts taught in her math classes, I don’t have to completely comprehend the Trinity to believe in it (which is good since the Trinity can seem as confusing as algorithms, algebraic combinatorics, and hypergraph theory).
While various analogies are often used to describe the Holy Trinity, none seem to work completely. The Trinity has been compared to an egg with its three parts: yolk, white, and shell. Although each is part of the same egg, the analogy fails because none of the three are the egg themselves. All three distinct persons of the Trinity are God rather than just part of Him. Others analogies compare the Trinity to water with its three properties of liquid, solid (ice), and vapor or steam. Although they all are water, the analogy fails since the same water can’t be all three at the same time. God, however, is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit simultaneously. In previous devotions, I’ve compared the Trinity both to a chef’s mirepoix and the three dimensions of a book; while close, they weren’t perfect analogies either.
While viewing a waterfall, I remembered an analogy used by one of my pastors. Picture yourself standing at the foot of a beautiful and powerful waterfall. You look up to the top. You can’t see the river that is the source of the water and yet you know it is there. The river, the source, is like God the Father. Then you look ahead and see the water pouring down over the rocks. The water you can see is Jesus (the Son who comes from God). Finally, you feel the spray on your face, breathe it in through your mouth and nose, and the water becomes part of you. That mist is the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, while the river, falling water, and mist are different forms of the same thing and exist at the same time, the analogy still doesn’t wholly capture the Trinity.
Despite failed analogies, the doctrine of the Trinity is central to our Christian faith. God is one being who exists as three coexistent, equal, eternal, and divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While they are all God, none of the three are any of the others. The Father is not the Son or Spirit; the Son is not the Father or Spirit; and the Spirit is neither Father nor Son. That we can’t fully comprehend this incredible phenomenon is understandable. God is God and we are not and His ways are beyond our limited human understanding.
Nevertheless, just because I can’t understand calculus or discrete math doesn’t mean they are false or nonexistent and just because I can’t quite grasp the concept of a Triune God doesn’t mean He doesn’t exist either. Our Triune God’s power and presence are not dependent upon our understanding. After all, this is the God who created a vast universe from nothing, scattered countless stars across the sky, and fashioned everything from elephants to dragonflies and redwoods to roses. God doesn’t just understand theoretical astrophysics, nanotechnology, quantum physics, calculus, and discrete math, He created them! Being three in one is probably child’s play to our omnipotent Triune God. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!
Following Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the apostles obediently and courageously returned to Jerusalem. They got down to business and selected a replacement for Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ. With the addition of Matthias, there again were twelve apostles and about 120 believers/disciples and the entire group devoted themselves to prayer. Picture this diverse group of people. How did they keep the faith? Did they wonder what exactly they were waiting for and when it would happen? Where was this baptism with the Holy Spirit Jesus promised them? When would Jesus to return? Did they grow impatient or begin to doubt what they’d seen with their eyes?
In contrast to works, which are produced by us, the Fruit of the Spirit is produced by the Holy Spirit. Rather than a basket with a variety of fruit, this is one indivisible fruit characterized by nine virtues: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We could call this the “Christlikeness fruit” because these characteristics describe Jesus and should describe us.
Back in the days before coronary artery bypass surgery and angioplasty, my father had heart disease and often suffered from the burning chest pain of angina. When that occurred, he would stop briefly, place a nitroglycerin tablet under his tongue, and his pain would ease. Medical nitroglycerin acts as a vasodilator by dilating or expanding the blood vessels so the heart doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood through those vessels.
In 1962, my 2-month-old nephew Johnny and his parents traveled 1,500 miles for his Baptism. Because my mother was hospitalized (and soon would be dead), the sacrament took place at her bedside. This was the only time Johnny and his grandmother met and the last time my sister saw our mother alive.
When told that the gifts the Holy Spirit gives us are unique for our specific ministries, we get nervous. We already have a career, didn’t sign up for seminary, and aren’t interested in being ministers. While being a minister/pastor/priest is a vocation, the ministry is the work of every Christian. No matter what our professions, we are all called to minister and that doesn’t necessarily mean pastoring a church. It means serving God and His people in Jesus’ name, which is where those spiritual gifts come in. God is not about to send us off empty-handed.
Devotions of the Heart 