on the trinity

graphs such as this help explaining the doctrine of the trinity as it has come to be understood, but i insist that it must necessarily fall short of describing the reality of the situation.

furthermore, i do not believe that human language nor logic can describe it.

even further, i do not believe humans can understand it.

i do not understand how gravity works, yet i live my whole life submitting to it.

i do not understand why i am even able to move my arm, or how i grow, or why. i do not understand how my brain works. i do not understand why i know that the signal my eyeballs send me is my signal, and that they are my eyeballs, and that what this fleshy contraption of a body experiences is my body and my life.

i don’t get any of that.

yet i know that it is true.

when it comes to godly things, what i know is not even nearly as well-defined as my eyeballs seeing light.

but i have a sense, somehow, that there is a god, a creator, the one true god, and i have a belief that jesus as described in the bible uniquely reveals who that god is to us, and what he wants for and from us.

i have said said jesus’ words were vague, and i stand by that.

they were vague.

if he wanted us to believe in “a trinity”, if such a belief was important in any way, shape or form, i trust that he’d have said so.

instead what he told us was to simply trust god, give to the poor, treat our neighbors well, and live a life of love.

all the theological banter that came after his wonderful and simple message is just so much noise — a clanging cymbal, if you will.

so jesus said, “i and the father are one”.

he also prayed that each of us would be one in the same way.

what does that mean?

who knows?

john, who it seemed had a pretty good bead on who jesus was said that god was “light”.

what does that mean?

who knows?

john also claimed that logos (the word) was around ever since god was.

and that jesus was logos given flesh.

what’s that mean?

i’ll tell you what all that does not mean: it does not mean that “the trinity” is clearly described.

i struggled for years and years with the “was jesus god?” question, and eventually came to some peace about it when i realized that god likely doesn’t give a whit what i think on the subject, so long as i hold firm to what is clear.

and as i have said many times, jesus’ teachings in matt 5 – 7 are clear, beautiful, life-giviing and precious.

this was originally posted here, at youthontherock.com.