Joel Russell-MacLean

If someone asks me, “What kind of car was that?” they are in for a disappointment. I can tell the difference between cars, trucks, and vans but not much beyond that! But then, I’ve never really cared about cars.

Now, someone who loves cars can look at a car, recognize its make and model, and maybe tell you something about that model’s story. Someone who cares might exclaim, “Motorbike?! That’s not a ‘bike’; that’s a 1952 Vincent Black Lightning!”

Shouldn’t it be the same for Christians talking about God? Shouldn’t we be quick and comfortable to recognize God not just as an abstract, generic, ‘being’? Shouldn’t we be able to talk about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit within our own circles and in worship? God has stepped into history and into our lives, and the God we see and hear in the scriptures and in our lives is the one God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

There are two ditches when we talk about the Trinity.

The one ditch is making understanding the Trinity a matter of losing favour with God. God’s love and mercy are always and only a gift from God, given before we knew anything about God.

However, the other ditch is saying that acknowledging the Trinity doesn’t really matter. “God knows what we mean; God can sort it out. God doesn’t care if we get the names wrong.” 

“This is Eternal Life,” Jesus said, “To know you.”

God went to lengths to have us know that God was three-in-0ne. It is life to know the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.