The Trinity, In Trembling Words {...and art...}
I finished a 16x20” canvas last week.
On the subject of The Trinity.
“Three In One - An Invitation”
I know. WHO TACKLES that as her subject matter, for a painting?!
I do. Apparently, I do.
The painting sold right away. Even though the canvas has already shipped out (as of this morning), the words on my heart won’t go away. I am utterly captivated, challenged, and inspired by the truth that Elohim, the Godhead, is plural.
Our Christian God is Three In One, friends.
We are invited into the warmest, wisest, most winsome circle of friendship in the universe. The King is my friend. The Father loves me. The Holy Spirit is my closest companion, He advocates for me fiercely, and He is my comforter. Together, these three move as absolute one. They are my “mastermind” group - and it doesn’t cost me a dime. I can’t believe my grace and blessing.
I have not earned and do not deserve to be placed in Christ and thus drawn into THIS circle of fellowship.
Most of us have an unconscious image of God as a rather solitary being: omnipotent, omnipresent, omni-basically-everything.
While it is true that “the Lord our God is one”, and He IS Omni-all-the-things, He is enthroned in the heavens; I fear we have been well-taught that He is three in ONE, to the detriment of the truth that He is THREE in one.
Emphasis on the THREE.
If our subconscious paradigm is “God, the great omnipotent, rather solitary being, ruling on high” - we come away with a very different picture than that of “God existing as a circle of friendship, in wide-open community, and in joyful, loving fellowship for all eternity past.”
Suddenly the remote Throne becomes a circle of three, each one facing the other, each one loving the other, each one distinct as a person yet “as absolute one” in execution - each one honoring and listening, each one with creativity that The Three then make various plans to execute those creative ideas into manifestation.
Two very different concepts of God, so different as to affect who I am! I now stand on the second one. God in three Persons is the only paradigm that is utterly true to Scripture, and makes sense of the universe and my design.
Creation didn’t arise from the boredom of a solitary Being who craved worship. Creation came from The Three deciding to share all they are, and all they have, with those they would create. The goal of The Three has always been inclusion.
But here’s where it gets difficult for some: the inclusion MUST BE on their terms, not ours. Why? Because they cannot lie, they will not deny who each is and who they are, as One. Father, Son, Spirit. They are faithful to one another’s essence. We don’t get to make up gods or goddess, or even “one God, not three”, or pretend there are many paths.
What a joy to realize that the passage, the great Shema Yisrael, “the Lord is one” does NOT mean one in the sense of a singular number. It means one in function and eternal purpose and creativity. They have never been, will never be, at odds.
When you meet God’s desire to include you in THEIR life, with your utter belief in who He has declared Himself to be, coming to Him through Jesus the son, you are then placed IN Jesus (thank God for His vicarious act, dying as us, so that we could be raised as in Him - what a plan!) and drawn into the most wonderful, warm, wise, witty circle of friendship in the universe.
It’s beyond your imagination, the things that The Three have cooked up for you! (“…the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.”)
Truly, nothing is impossible with those Three. They have conspired as One to create and have a family of humans with all the rights of sonship given to Jesus - because He willingly became us so that we could be “as He is”.
“As He is, so are we IN THIS WORLD”. 1 John 4: 17
OH THE RICHES OF THE TRINITY!
Day 6 of Lent {...process > product...}
In art circles there is a popular hashtag: #doitfortheprocess
Do it for the process. Not the product.
I think this process-oriented mindset is such freedom for artists because it originated in the heart of the First Artist. God does everything for the process. I mean, consider it: Christ was the plan of God from before the foundation of the world.
“God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.”
God waited a really long time to “get to the point”! Why?! Because He was painting a picture. All through creation, the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant, and the Covenant of the Law, all the way up and until Christ, He was painting a picture.
And He is still painting pictures. He is still longsuffering, still delighting in process. Instead of fast forwarding all of human history to the end goal of a glorified Jesus, God is still relishing the details in His unfolding of His masterpiece!
My friend and fellow creative, He is pleased, fascinated, and gratified in the process He is using with you. How can I say that? How can I know?
Because the Lord binds Himself to His own word. We can take what we learn about His character and nature in the Scripture, put it through the lens of the New Covenant, and realize that He is the only being that is never bored, He is endlessly creating, doesn’t get frustrated with us when we don’t get it. If the Lord tells us to “count it all joy” when we encounter various troubles - how much more does He count it all joy in His process of loving His own?
It helps me to quietly meditate on the processes of God. The degree to which He involves Himself in a human life is beyond profound. He is perfectly patient, and He feels happy in the process, because He is patient (not the irritated kind of “patience-with-a-sigh”)…
…He is endlessly interested in the works of His hands, He knows the outcome, because it all is His artwork anyway. He began the masterpiece, He sustains it, He works on it throughout the course of our collective lifetimes, and He will complete it. He knows exactly what He is doing, and where He is going with all His designs.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below - does any of this feel like a challenge? Does it sort of “mess” with your church-y ideas of God? Have you known these things all along, and thus you’ve experienced great freedom in your processes?
It has taken time for me. I need to preach to my own soul, and right often, at that! So here I am, in the school of Christ. For me, it is both art school and seminary. I am in this school theologically, practically, relationally, and in my art practice. The goal is the learning…not a certain outcome. The goal is the learning to become as passionate about the process as Jesus is.
Because of this learning, this letting sound doctrine get tangled up with my practice of free-wheeling art, I can no longer put God in neat theological boxes labeled "judgement" and "mercy". Justice and Mercy hang out together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other, you see. They’re close companions, if not lovers. Much in the same way, my Bible study and art have become much more than disinterested associates. They are much more than friends. They have this degree of intimacy. Now, each one defers safely to the other.