GREETINGS
IN CHRIST FROM PASTOR CHRIS
Dear
Friends in Christ,
This
coming Sunday we celebrate one of the most difficult concepts to
understand in history. It’s true, and this is why when we look at
the history of Christianity, we see this topic coming up over and
over again. It is not hard to see why either. If someone talking with
you turned to you and said that 1 + 1 + 1 = 1, you would say they are
mad. Yet, this is exactly what Christians have said for two
millennia now. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
are all God, but there is only one God. It doesn’t make sense.
I
think that many times when we talk with people we are afraid to talk
about the Holy Trinity because of this, it simply doesn’t make
sense. I know many that are afraid to bring up the Holy Trinity
thinking that it will cause people to believe Christianity is just
some made up religion. I have thought about this a long time, and I
do not think that I can agree that the confusion causes people to
think that Christianity is made up. One of the things that I did
while studying in the Seminary was to look at other religions,
whether they were eastern or western. I looked at many man-made
religions and while doing all this it struck me, they all make sense.
In all the literature, the “gods” seem to be doing exactly what
you would think they would do. On top of this their sense of morality
most of the time fits with what you would expect. They all seem to
make sense. Not only that, but in many of the descriptions of “gods”
they do things that are horrible and not very virtuous at all.
This
is not the case when you come to Christianity. Starting with the Old
Testament there are immediately things that don’t seem to make
sense. God sets rules that are not of this world, when He talks about
Himself many times it can be confusing. Even in Genesis God
identifies Himself in the plural. I am sure to the early Jews this
alone was very confusing, until Christ came and made it more
understandable, revealing that God is three persons but one God.
However, even with that only more questions emerged, many questions
which we will never know the answer till the day when we stand before
the Throne. This confusion, however, is not to be avoided but
embraced. We are blessed with a caring and loving God, a God that is
above us, a God that is beyond our own understanding. A God that sent
His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die for our sake and our sins.
And if I am ever asked, “how is this all possible, how can Jesus be
God, the Father be God, and the Holy Spirit?” I will simply say I
don’t know, and I will rejoice that God is greater than me.
