A One-Hundred Day Journey to Freedom: Meditation #2
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“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.” John 17:6-11
Meditation
We praise God that he is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for if he were not triune in his nature he could never reveal himself to us, and we would never know him, our selves or our purpose in life.
Teaching
Mention the doctrine of the Trinity to any believer and you will likely get a sigh and a roll of the eyes. “Who can understand it?” most people reply. Pastors try to describe the Trinity like an egg (shell, white and yolk but one egg), or like water (liquid, solid and vapor, but one substance) with little effect. It is one of those teachings that we believe passively but, because we can’t understand it, we tend to think that it really has little consequence on the way in which we understand Scripture, God and life. Nothing could be further from the truth. I could go as far as to say that the doctrine of the Trinity is the single most important belief we have as followers of Jesus Christ. Without it, our entire faith crumbles like a house of cards. The reason is really quite simple.
If Jesus Christ is not fully God, then he could not 1) reveal God, 2) bear the sins of the world on our behalf, 3) reconcile us to the Father, 4) defeat death, or 5) promise us everlasting life. Yet he proclaimed himself to be fully God, ‘one with the Father.’ And it is in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit that people are baptized into the one Church of Jesus Christ.
We don’t have to understand it, in fact we should praise God that we have a God whose very nature is beyond our human comprehension. But this we do know, and this we must celebrate – because God is triune he is able to reveal himself to us, die for us, redeem us and call us back to him for eternity.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
All the earth shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea
Holy, Holy, Holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, Blessed Trinity
Action
Do a web search on the words ‘images of the trinity’ and look through all the ways that artists throughout the ages have tried to depict the tri-unity of God. As you do, give thanks to God for his triune nature and all that it means to you as a follower of the Son, in worship of the Father by the power of the Spirit.
Prayer
O most holy Trinity, Almighty God, we adore You, who give life and vigor to every creature and who shed light eternal where there is darkness. We offer you our hearts, our souls, and our whole being, today and on the days to come, that we may offer perfect praise and love to your glorious Name. Amen.
O Father almighty, we thank you wholeheartedly for all the blessings and graces You have so generously given us then and now.
O merciful Christ Jesus, wash away our sins with your most precious blood. Feel the beating of our hearts and make them like your own. Oh, dear Jesus, wipe away our tears and pardon us for our sinfulness. Be with us, O Lord, until our dying day that we may be worthy of your mercy and forgiveness.
O Holy Spirit, our guide and inspiration, lead us to the right path. And if, on our way, we encounter difficulties and trials, do not allow us to fall or lose hope. Grant us the graces we need daily that we may also share our blessings with our fellow travelers. And when the time comes, O Holy Spirit, lead us to the place that is secure, full of joy and eternal peace. Amen. (Author Unknown)
