“The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Spirit. The Spirit is not the Father. And yet God is not three rival beings, three competing wills, or three separate centers trying to cooperate. God is one. God is eternally Father, Son, and Spirit. God is communion.” –Barton Breen

I think most of us have just accepted the formulation of a Trinitarian God without giving it a lot of thought. And that makes sense, because a single and also three-personed God, well … doesn’t. It’s a mystery that can never be understood by our finite human brains, so we choose to simply accept (or reject!) the idea and then continue on with our lives. But I’m convinced that immersing ourselves in contemplating this mystery—in whatever capacity we can—will deeply enrich our lives with God.

Do any of these questions about the Trinity sound familiar? “Is there some kind of hierarchy, with the Father holding the trump card over the Son and Spirit? Are the Persons ever at odds with each other? Was the Trinity somehow split at the moment of Christ’s death when he said, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ Who—and where—is the Spirit, exactly, and how does the Spirit’s presence really affect my life?”

These are just a few of the questions I’ve had and heard regarding the Trinity. What are some of yours? If we never look under the hoods of our spiritual lives to become aware of what we really think about the Trinity, we can never have God meet us there to reveal to us more of who God really is. And why is this so important?

This is the primary reason: Without knowing it, many people have adopted a functional image of the Trinity (that is, how their idea of the Trinity actually functions underneath their professed beliefs) where the Father is distant from humans and angry with our failures, Jesus is near and graciously inserts himself between the displeased Father and us, and the Spirit is somehow always hovering, putting pressure on us to do better or try harder. Not everyone’s beliefs will reflect this exact thinking, of course, but without exploring what we really do believe, thoughts like this can be running in the background, negatively influencing our relationship with God.

Please take time this week to explore, with God, your underlying beliefs about the Trinity. Don’t be afraid of what rises to the surface; just become aware of what’s there, and hold it before the God who already knows, and who loves you completely. Then come back next week, and let’s continue exploring the beauty of the Trinity, together.

–Lori Duncan