Relationship
This past September I went on the 15th Southern Illinois Honor Flight. If you have not gotten familiar with those events I suggest you go to their website and look around. I’ve not experienced anything quite like what these folks do. The organizational skills and the purpose fulfilled are superb. As it turned out not only did we (over 80 military veterans) visit approximately 9/10 memorial sites, but I was also surprised to find out that besides myself and one HS Classmate, two other high school classmates took the flight as well. The Washington DC experience was a one-off. It was simply quite ‘amazing’. That day all 80 veterans, their volunteers and hundreds of well wishers experienced patriotism unlike any other time in my life. It was not patriotism observed but patriotism lived: super experience.
It ended up being a 20 hour day, a day filled with a historical appreciation of serving the country but also an ‘itty-bitty’ class reunion. I’m writing about that day because the phrase that best described it (a bit surprisingly) was the natural relationship all four of us classmates had as we toured Washington. I won’t tell exactly how many years it’s been since I’d seen Sam and Ron but, in spite of that time span, all four of us never missed a beat in enjoying one another and being interested in one another’s story.
That evening the ‘natural relationship’ we all four experienced that day got me thinking about the purpose of God in creating a creature, creating human beings; the motive behind God creating men and women. Why would an all-sufficient God create humans at all, place that creation on a rock located a long way from Their (Trinity) home? They had all the toys they needed, they had all the stuff They needed, They had no need to dominate any earthly kingdom. They ruled the whole universe, owned it all. I think the answer to that mystery can be suggested in a short Scripture: God is Love. He doesn’t just do love, He doesn’t just preach Love, doesn’t just demand it of us–He is Love (Agape the Greek word for the highest expression possible of Love.) (1John 4:8) Can’t help Himself but do it. It’s a Love that’s compassionate, it’s a Love that cannot lie, and it is an intense Love.
What was the first feeling you had when you looked over the hospital crib at your child?
That emotion is a hint from God of what He felt creating us. Another hint is the Biblical relationship between a husband and wife. They become one; very similar to the Trinity of God being one God. I’ve always described the Trinity a bit like the military structure we see in the secular world. The Army has a function, the Navy has a specific function, and that’s true of the Air Force and Marines. They are separate in each of their functions and yet all agree in one purpose and are united in one focus: the security of the USA. The relationship between Father, Son and Spirit leaves each with unique functions but all united in one purpose: Life As The Father Would Have It For You.
As believers we become the Bride of Christ. We become one with Christ and His relationship with Father and Spirit. The Bible is a proposal. ‘Will you become My bride?’ is the essence of the Gospel invitation. ‘Will you accept My offer of becoming one, having your unique function but joining Me with bringing that uniqueness into a relationship with the Gospel purpose?’ Who is the Bride of Christ: those that ‘yield’ to that invitation. When accepted into our hearts we become one with God. We enter into a circle of believers that unite with the original Trinity circle and it’s always being enlarged to include the adopted children of God.
Simply, Father, Son and Spirit wanted, because of Their unique relationship, to share that relationship with us. Wanted Their creation to experience Their passion for one another. They went so far as to send Jesus to reconcile and give Life as the Father would have it for you. They went so far as to write an instruction manual on how to experience that Life with you: The Bible.
The whole Gospel is pretty much about coming into relationship. Carmen’s lyrics: Saved, Delivered, Healed comes with the package when you say ‘ I Do’ to Father, Son and Spirit’s invitation to step into Their circle. Sin is forgiven, reconciliation takes place, adoption, freedom, Grace and Mercy all can function to give us the Life God would have us experience. The triune God not only experience it themselves, they desire for you to experience it in your life as well. Will we be one with our Creator or we will not? That’s the question.
Hell is the total separation from the Love of God. Maybe we can even go so far as to say that separation is Hell. For those that don’t believe and don’t want to believe, they will eventually get that wish and achieve total separation if they say no to God’s invitation. Accomplish that and you default to the world described as ‘eternal separation’. Separation from God is simply the complete opposite of relationship with God. Separation automatically exists because of the real reality of relationship with God. Avoiding that separation (Hell) is a very good reason for believing the Gospel. Relationship with the Trinity is the real purpose of this Gospel. ‘Choose you this day whom you will serve’ is the proposal. (Deu. 30:19, Joshua 24:15) If you oppose Him, He’s not sending you to that separation, you’re voluntarily taking a room there. He is trying to pull us out of making that choice and redeem us for our sake. We can argue all we want; we can say ‘no’ until we’re hoarse, but the invitation still stands.
Jesus was the manifestation of the Creator of the everything voluntarily coming and taking on Flesh (more than just a body: but a mind will and emotion as well). It was The Son, The Word of God, stepping into our world for our sake. The Bible starts out in Genesis with the Trinity being referred to in the original language as Elohim: a plural description. The Trinity concept continues in further Scripture. We follow with Aaron’s blessing, three blessings: The Lord Bless you, The Lord be gracious to you, The Lord give you Peace. We have Isaiah’s writings and John’s book of Revelation approaching God as: Holy, Holy, Holy. There is Unity, Three in One, a Relationship of Father, Son and Spirit.
Before I quit, let’s turn to the Cross for a moment. There you have the Word of God mocked and beaten to un-recognition. Roman soldiers, Judas, the Temple Police, torches, spears, nails and the Roman torture machine, the cross. A description of God’s created creatures as authors of terror. It’s also a picture of God’s passion to make a way for humans to choose His relationship. That’s a picture of how much you mean to Him. It’s whosoever will. There are no disqualifiers– you qualify. We are asked to believe that Jesus endured the cross because of the Joy set before Him. (Heb. 12:2) I like to think of it like this:
He endured the cross for the glorious Life that he was handing you as a gift of God. There was nothing glorious about that crucifixion except the gift that God had prepared for us.
‘The Passion of Christ’ was serious enough to hopefully grab our attention. Jesus literally died for you! Here’s the Gospel shorthand:
Will you believe me? Will you follow me? Will you accept my Grace? Will you come and join us (Father, Son, and Spirit) and let us have compassion on you; give you Life?
That flight to Washington, seeing the city and all the memorials dedicated to the veterans was made even more perfect because four people shared a moment. This life is much like that, it’s much more of a wonderful experience when shared in a relationship with the Creator of the world: Trinity of God, each performing their unique and loving functions in our daily lives.