While I was in university, one of the discussions we had focused on the Trinity, or Triune God. The question our professor wanted us to consider was this; how would you explain the wholeness of God to a ten-year-old? Our class had some brilliant students and we thought this was going to be quite simple but it turned out to be more difficult than we first presumed. The group was fortunate to have a parent of a ten-year-old and, as we began to formulate a method of delivery, we discovered this was going to be more difficult than we first imagined. Let me give you an example.
God is like
an egg. The egg has a shell, the yellow yolk and the white. While all three are
separate, they all make up an egg. The parent in our group just stared blankly
at us and we waited for the response.
“God is an
egg? Do you know what the first question would be? Do you realize where the
questions are going to go especially in a Sunday school class full of
ten-year-olds? Is it a boiled egg or a raw egg? Is it a brown egg or a white
egg? Robin’s eggs are blue”
We were
just talking about eggs and hadn’t even started in on the Triune God. Explaining
the Father was going to be relatively easy since most children of faith already
understand that God, the Father, was Christ’s Father (don’t get me started on
when someone noted that Joseph was His father – there is always one). The
Heavenly Father, by way of the Holy Spirit (don’t use the term Ghost, that is a
story for another day) became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is how Jesus the Messiah
was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the
marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through
the power of the Holy Spirit. Matt 1:8 NLT
We all
thought we were going to nail this part but we soon found out how wrong we
were. Here were some of the possible questions:
·
Where
do babies come from?
·
Was
Joseph mad?
·
Is
Joseph the stepdad?
·
What’s
a virgin?
None of us
really saw that coming. We were thinking on an adult level and not a child
level. We were using adult speak where we needed to kid friendly language. You
see, the message of God is not complicated but we have made it tough. Too many
scholars trying to make everyone realize just how smart they are rather than
take the time to speak the truth in simple terms. This may upset some of the highly
educated and the professors but the truth is this, Christ came for all and not
just the highbrows. In fact, if you want to know the Trinity read this bit of
scripture.
One day when the crowds were
being baptized, Jesus himself was
baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended
on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” Luke 3:21-22 NLT
God is the Father
of all creation, Jesus the Son who came to earth to save us all and the Holy
Spirit who dwells with us 24/7. All three are God and God is the great I AM. It
may seem tough to wrap our head around it all but we can think of it this way;
God is creator, saviour and protector wrapped up in one magnificent package.
This is as simple as can make it.
This Sunday, we
will finish the series on Pentecost. We would love for you to join us either in
person or online Sunday at 10:30 AM MST.
Facebook Live - Main Ave Fellowship
YouTube Live
– You Tube
We look forward to
seeing you this Sunday.
Blessings,
Pastor Todd
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