Partaking in Unity

I believe that the Bible rests on the underlying theme of unity. We see in Genesis a perfect unity between God and His creation: humanity, animals, and nature. This unity is broken in the garden and is further broken in the stories of Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, and the tower of Babel. The rest of the Bible, from that point on until the time of Jesus, even unto the present day, God has been hard at work restoring our relationships with nature, with ourselves and others, and most importantly with Him. Jesus is the man we confess as our Lord and Savior and is the only thing that has proven to fix these fractures.

Now we all know that Jesus wasn’t merely a man that was conceived, lived, died, and was risen. People had been raised from the dead before, such as Lazarus and Jairus’ Daughter, yet they aren’t our lords and saviours, right? In the Old Testament, both the prophet’s Elijah and Elisha raised people from the dead as well. This is not an attempt to downplay the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, just a shifting of the emphasis onto something much larger. One reason why the death of Christ is foundational to our faith is because of the marvellous relationship that He had with God the Father and the Holy Spirit before, during, and after His time on earth. This perfect unity that they shared is the essence of the being we call God, which is what makes this such an incredible act of love.

This relationship that Jesus had with God the Father and the Holy Spirit is what we call the Trinity. Three persons, one God. These three persons lived in perfect harmony before the beginning of time and space. The love that they had for each other was complete, not lacking anything. Now I don’t have children, and I’m not even married. But, I do have parents, brothers and sisters, and even three adorable nephews. I know for myself that the love I have for my family only grows stronger as I grow older. The more time I spend with a person, the more opportunity I have to become trusting and loving of that person. Perhaps you can identify with that.

So just try to imagine with me how Father God felt when He sent His only son, whom He had just spent the past eternity being in perfect relationship with, to live for us and die for us. Not only the pain of that kind of change in their relationship but then also the joy of returning into it after His resurrection and ascension into heaven! I can’t even imagine the amazing feeling of returning home to God. Do you know that peace you feel when you return home after being away for a long time? That feeling of oneness, the familiar comfort of laying in your own bed? That is what I imagine Jesus felt in some sense. This was where the three persons felt at home. And all of this, just to give us the chance, the opportunity, to come into the perfect unity with them! This sort of love is well beyond my comprehension.

For God to desire the same level of unity with us as they have within themselves is what makes our God so unique. This level of love is unique to the Christian God, and it is what makes the gospel such good news. So let us spend time embracing such a marvellous reality this week.