“If God’s life is communion and Christ has brought us into that communion, then I can begin somewhere other than fear. I can learn to live from a love that was there before I knew how to receive it.” –Barton Breen

We talked last time about what God existing in Trinity means for salvation, and that an excellent way to define salvation is as “participation in the life of God.” I’d like to look this week at how that participation—that being embraced into and living from God’s ever-flowing love, and our belief about it—can affect our emotional well-being.

We’ve already looked a bit at how believing the Trinity is divided (i.e., angry Father; compassionate Son; pressuring Spirit) can negatively affect our relationship with God. It’s true that Scripture tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Psalms and Proverbs), but if Jesus is the fullest revelation of who the Father is (Jn 14:9), then cowering in fear before a punishing deity cannot be what that means. That kind of fear does not lead to a free, healthy and joyful relationship; rather, it leads to striving and performance, which stand opposed to grace. Have you investigated what the theological idea of “the fear of God” has communicated to you? Might there be some unhealthy fear that contributes to performance or that undermines God’s love? It’s important to know because our theology shapes our prayer and how we see ourselves in God.

Please consider trying this imaginative exercise this week, even if you don’t carry an unhealthy fear of God:

Do your best to creatively “picture” the Trinity: perhaps an enlivened Rublev icon, or a swirling Celtic Trinity knot, or even a glowing triangle—something that indicates a living entity with three identifiable points. However you picture the flow happening between the Persons, identify it as love: love is who God always is, and Father, Son, and Spirit live eternally in one communion of love. Now, imagine yourself being carried by Jesus right into the middle of that flow of love, and let it flow into you completely. Rest there for a moment in communion with God.

Friends, the truth is that, in Christ and by the Spirit, that very place is where we already exist: we already are fully drawn into the life of God, no striving or performance required. By the incarnation of the Son and the indwelling of the Spirit, God gives us himself. Whether you know it or not, you are already participating in the life of God. But it’s so healing to know it. Let’s walk in the life of God together.

-Lori Duncan