A Riddle?
1 John 4:16b God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
An English teacher asked high school students to define Love. Two definitions, or ‘daffy-nitions’ were: “Life is one thing after another! Love is two things after each other.” And, “Love is the feeling you feel when you feel you are going to have a feeling like you have never felt before.” Hmmm, love is difficult to define—it’s so deep, so awesome that it is hard to put into words.
The same is true of some basic Christian beliefs—like the doctrine of the Trinity. Can you explain, “God in three persons?” It is confusing for many.
A man fainted in a department store. Within minutes a priest—who was told he may be dying—was on the scene. He knelt beside the man, took his hand tenderly, and began to administer the last rites. “My friend, do you believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit?” The man roused a little, opened one eye, looked at the people standing around, pointed at the priest, and said, “Can you believe this guy? Here I am dying and he asks me a riddle!”
Well, for many the Trinity is a riddle. But see this: Our God is an unbreakable relationship between three unique personages—each with characteristics fostered by charity and selflessness, united by a bond of life-sustaining love. The best description of God as a relationship is given in the book of 1 John—God is love.
Remember this: every doctrine was first a doxology, every belief was first a song. This means we come to this belief, not looking for the answer to a riddle, nor looking for something to argue about, but rather looking for what is here to sing about; not looking for what is here to squabble over, but instead looking for what is here that makes us want to shout and sing praises to God.
We sing about God in the Doxology And we personally experience God in three amazing ways: God made me; God saved me; God sustains me. That’s something to sing about.
We will not fear what comes tomorrow. Love will heal us, for God is love.