The tiny one had a gleam in her eyes as she spoke. With the pure simplicity of a small child, she said, “It’s like an egg. It has a shell, a yolk and a white, but it’s still an egg.”
Her little friends continued playing with their toys and didn’t really pay attention.
The young student stood before his classroom with a clear cup filled with water. “It’s like water,” he said. “It can be solid or liquid or gas, but it’s still water.”
A few classmates snickered at his explanation.
The young man boldly said to his friends, “It’s like a man. He can be a leader at work, a husband to his wife and a dad to his kids. In each role he can be different, but in all of them, he is still a man."
One of his friends argued vehemently against the concept. Another silently walked away.
Many years ago, back when we had church services on Sunday evenings, I was approached by a young adult. I was on staff of that church and not the pastor. Maybe he approached me because of our similar ages. Maybe he saw me as more accessible than our pastor, who had just preached and was greeting people near the door. Whatever may have been his reason, the question he asked caught me off guard and has stayed with me ever since: “I have about five minutes before I have to leave; can you explain the trinity to me?"
His question has bounced around in my head like a pinball ever since. Who can explain THE trinity in five minutes? Indeed, who can explain it at all? Simple explanations may help illustrate it, but none can fully explain the idea that God is ONE God in THREE persons. If the trinity is so far beyond our thinking, why try to understand it? “WHY BOTHER?”
As we said last week, “This Stuff Matters!” That’s why we are picking up the subject this weekend at Stone Ridge Church. You don’t want to miss this important message about the God who loves us and wants us to know Him. Can’t be there? Catch the podcast!
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