In Romans 1 Paul speaks of knowing God by seeing the things He has made. In Hebrews 1 he speaks of knowing God through the ultimate revelation – Jesus. In Ezekiel 36 we read, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.” God in nature – the Father, God in history – Jesus, God within us – the Holy Spirit.
The concept of a Trinity taunts our finite intellects and reminds us of our limitations. Our feeble attempts at a cogent explanation fall so short we have invited unbelievers to accuse us of polytheism, of which we are not. The problem is our inability to see through Paul’s dark glass. God is a revealer of Himself and in His good wisdom He has chosen to remain a mystery. While He could He has not removed grounds for doubt. There must be something to be gained by intellectually grabbling with His existence, the nature of His being, and His purposes to be a good God and yet tolerate acts of despicable horror on earth. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrew 11:6
Does growth only come at the expense of careful exploration of ideas so near to understanding that we are motivated to stretch just a bit more and thus receive the rewards promised above? Is one of life’s great joys the discovery process? If God answered all our questions, would that turn us into nothing other than intellectual rubber stamps. Jesus promised us in the Sermon on the Mount that we will see God, but somehow I think there will always be something just beyond the horizon of our thoughts.
Written by Roger Bothwell on May 28, 2012
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org