Father – Son – Holy Spirit

This morning, during my prayers, it struck me how God had so graciously, revealed of Himself, to me, over the years. That which I formerly did not comprehend, I do, to some limited extent, now comprehend.

In fact, I sometimes marvel at how blind I once was, and did not see, what is so readily available, to see. I am of the mindset that just about everyone believes that God exists. When you stop to think about all the seemingly impossible odds against us just being here, not to mention the wonders of our bodies and the abilities we possess, I’m thinking that it’s pretty hard not to believe in God. Disorder doesn’t create amazing complex interdependent order all by itself. The code in our DNA and the processes they orchestrate, don’t assemble themselves, all by itself. It just doesn’t work that way. And the more that we learn, the more complex all that we see around us, is being continually revealed.

But believing in God and honestly seeking to know Him are not one and the same thing. In fact, there are many who clearly state that they do not believe that God exists or they may say that they think He exists but they do not wish to know Him, because of the consequences of doing so. So they can do one of two things, they can deny that he exists, followed by a torrent of reasons why this is so, or they can say they believe that God exists, but that they do not wish to know Him. And obviously, to this very day, there are many that belong to one of those two ways of thinking.

Anyone who studies the history of humanity knows that all ancient civilizations believed in Gods of one sort or another. That would be plural. But that changed in a certain point in time with the Hebrews, a small insignificant group of people, whom God chose to reveal Himself to. And they recorded what they were shown. God revealed that they were not many Gods, but only one God, and that He was that God, and that He was Holy.

Think of “holy” as different, and that difference between God and His creation (which would be us), was huge. The word “holy” means without partiality, always just, always righteous in intent. Today we might call that “Holy” as being really good. But being “Holy” as God is, is not the same as us being really good. Not even close.

So God, in His revealing of Himself to these Hebrews, had them build a highly detailed tabernacle, and later temples, which exemplified the difference between what we call being “good” and God being Holy. A priesthood performed highly detailed rituals or ceremonies that showcased the difference between God’s holiness and man’s goodness. But there was more. God gave these Hebrews His definition of Holy or being good via the Mosaic Law, and by doing so, showed us that our “good”, fell incredibly short. And the difference between our “good” and God’s holiness was called sin, and in God’s eyes, sin was not an acceptable option. Impartiality, justice and righteousness are not variables that are exercised and then not exercised in God’s presence, they are constant and never change, because God does not change. We (as in all of us), need to really understand this, because it is what separates us from God. God IS HOLY and we, in and of ourselves, are not.

God spelled it out for them, He told the Hebrews that His thoughts were not the same as their thoughts, and His ways were not the same as their ways. The way in which we interacted with one another and especially with God, was a barrier that needed bridging, and even the ceremonies showed that temporary covering over our differences was a short time solution, and not His final intent. The short story is that the difference between God and us, was not able to be bridged by ourselves. God would have to do it for us. This is where Christianity differs from all other world religions. The other religions are mans attempts at creating a way, and Christianity is God’s way. It stands alone. And no other “messenger” stated that He was God, none, except Jesus, and He stands alone.

And throughout the records that the Hebrews recorded, God tells them of a coming Redeemer, a Redeemer who will be God Himself, in a fleshly body, who will be the promised Messiah, the chosen one, to do for them what they in themselves could not do. God tells them when He will arrive, where He will be born and that His kingdom will be never ending. And that He and He alone will perfectly exemplify the Mosaic Law, fulfilling it.

That Redeemer spoken of, of course, is Jesus, the Son of God. This is the same Jesus who fed multitudes with next to nothing, who healed the lame and sick, who raised others from the dead, who commanded the elements and gave Himself on a cross, for us, and rose triumphantly from the dead three days later, as Jesus Himself foretold would happen. This is the same Jesus who said that we who believe in God and believe in Him, must be born again to enter into His kingdom.

We’re not talking about what we may call being good. We’re not talking about “lip service” where we may recite written words and then walk away as if nothing has changed. If you don’t grasp that, you’re missing the pointers of the Tabernacle, the Mosaic Law and the need for God to do for us what we in and of ourselves can never do.

These are the words spoken by Jesus Himself, as recorded by the Apostle John in John 3:16-20 NASB: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God.”

Many years ago, I began my journey of believing in Jesus and trying to walk with Him. It did not go well. There were many failures on my part, where I didn’t grasp the reality of me needing to controll and orchestrate my own needs, and the sufficiency that can only be found in Jesus. It’s been a long journey, with much grace given to me by God, that I truly did not deserve.

That last line that John quotes Jesus, where Jesus says “But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God”, says it all. Trying to practice the truth, as revealed within God’s Holy Word, brings one to the realization that it is not about my deeds that I have done, it is about what God has performed in me, throughout this journey. The Light is Jesus, always has been, always will be. And now, as I enter into uncharted waters, in my twilight years, I can truly say that my sufficiency is in Him.

There is much that I have had to deliberately leave out in this post, but God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, are not idle words that are just spoken. They are the testimony of the trinity of God, calling out to a hurt and dying world and I am so thankful that in my limited comprehension, I know them to be true.

In Matthew 11:29 NASB Jesus is quoted as saying the following: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” “Learn from Me” is the best advice that Jesus ever gave me. Take it to heart.

Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!