Let us pray: O blessed Trinity, how awesome is Your name in all the earth! How amazing that You have loved us enough to save our souls. How blest we are to know You and be empowered to praise You. In You we live, move, and have our very being. Continue to uplift our hearts to praise You for Your goodness unceasingly. Amen
GRACE MERCY AND PEACE ARE YOURS FROM THE ALMIGHTY TRINITY!
TEXT: Romans 8: 14-17
Dearly Beloved By the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost:
Memorial Day is profound in that it isn’t about us, but our departed loved ones, especially soldiers who fought to keep us free. My father always called it: decoration day. The day we went to the cemetery and decorated the graves of loved ones. It is poignant to stand at the grave of someone special and remember them long after they are gone.
One such loved one was my grandfather Willard. To me, he was larger than life. He could do almost anything. I think of him constructing 2 homes, all on his own. He was the architect, the general contractor, the cement specialist, the carpenter, the electrician, the plumber, and the general finisher—all on his own. And those 3 bedroom homes still stand today! Few people have such over-arching skills today.
So, what does this have to with our unsearchable God, the Holy Trinity? Well, first off, He deserves special honor from us for planning, creating, saving, and continuing to keep this world, and us, running. And secondly, He has no rival in the profundity and tenacity of His labors of love.
I
In adult class, I always remind the student that God has no rival and that no mere human could dream up anything so out-of-this-world as the doctrine of the Trinity. We have one God in three Persons. Each is fully God. And yet God’s power and majesty are not divided up in 3rds. No, each is 100% God and possesses 100% of the Divine nature. No mere human could ever dream up such a truth on their own. To me, that speaks volumes as to the Trinity’s divine essence. Likewise, this God, our God, is eternal and timeless. He is infinite, filling all things. He wasn’t created, He just is—before time began. He is almighty, all-knowing, and most of all loves the crown of His creation—us.
Additionally, when He dreamed up the universe and then created it out of nothing by simply calling it into existence, His entire being was involved. The Father ordained it all, the Son was the active force, the Word, used to make it so, and the Spirit gave it all life and animation. The same is true when we think of how we’re saved from the evil we brought upon ourselves. The Father was the architect of the Son’s accomplishing our salvation and the Spirit was, and is, in charge of making our rebirth in God’s love our reality. Hence, in you and me, God is the Ultimate Builder of life.
II
St. Paul outlines this situation in our lesson and applies its Trinitarian truths to us today. He says: “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father” (a term of loving endearment). The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
Elsewhere Paul says of believers: “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works.” So, our Builder God remade us, changing us from sinners into saints. Such was Jesus’ work—a carpenter—and accomplished on the wood of the cross. But without the Spirit instilling within us the gift of faith, triumph over fear and the slavery of sin, it would have been all for nothing. However, our living God creates living works of goodness. The Spirit instills God’s goodness within us. Thus, we become His children and Christ’s co-heirs of the ultimate home of heaven. Yes, we still share in his sufferings—persecution, mockery, rejection, and even death—but because God is our Builder, nothing can totally destroy the love and joy He has placed into our hearts. So, on this memorial day weekend, we adorn the grave of His Son with our whole being. You and I, dear Christians, are living proof of the Holy Trinity’s power, love, wisdom, and total goodness. To God alone be all glory! Amen
THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH SURPASSES….
Pastor Thomas H. Fox