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!
My Word For 2022
New Year’s Eve 2021 already feels like six months ago, for The Preacher and I.
Because after a beautiful Christmas season, after selling out my largest collection of art and ornaments to date, and after buying a fabulous sequined t-shirt just for family New Year’s Eve dinner…
…I tested positive for Covid on exactly December 31, 2021. And because I snuggle The Preacher, he came down with Covid, too.
Two of my grand girls and I, on just about the very last day I felt human.
The week immediately following Christmas, the weather here in East Tennessee was so balmy and wonderful, that the whole culdesac, plus my momma, decided to get out, set up The Preacher’s Nikon, and capture some family photos.
four generations of God-loving girl-power…
In less than one week, my attitude went from owning and feeling all this generous, feminine power - to wishing the fleas of a thousand camels into the hair extensions of the woman who messed up my grocery delivery.
And I may or may not have also threatened to drop-kick kittens:
Ok, I did. I did threaten to drop kick kittens. I was an aching, anxious, angry Covid lady.
But none of those words (aching, anxious, angry) are my word for 2022. I just needed to bring you up to speed. I’m all better, now.
The Lord actually gave me my word for 2022 this past November. I have been seeing repeating numbers since 2018, and their significance is profound for me. Suddenly, I realized the coming year was a repeating number. And the Holy Spirit said, “Collaborate with Me creatively in the coming year, daughter. Two are better than one.”
I also had the immediate longing to do important work with dear friends. And so, after hearing this word “collaborate”, within three days, two large collaborations came in - both of them with friends of mine: I am now one of the contributors for the magazine Eden and Vine for the coming year, and I will also be bringing you another art and lifestyle class on Jeanne Oliver's creative network - a class that I believe will be my best and most important work there, to date.
I have a strong intuition that there is one more large collaboration out there. I’m just waiting on the Lord for it. (And no, I’d never drop-kick a kitty, in case you are that next person/company/collaboration, and you are now very worried as to the content of my character!)
My most recent finished art
As I was recovering from the dreaded ‘rona, the Holy Spirit took me to the book of John, chapter 20, verse 22 (“2022”). It was one of the holiest moments of my life, and here is what it says:
“And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
As lovely as the other collaborations will be, this year, it’s this collaboration with the Holy Ghost that’s got me all excited. I can’t wait to see what He wants to do together with me.