Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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We believe in the Holy Trinity
John 1:1–18
John 1:1–2; NRSV And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
In Kerala where rubber plantations are common, the three-lobed fruit of the rubber tree is used to illustrate the Holy Trinity. Many of us who are Sunday School teachers have used the three stages of water. When our minds cannot comprehend a concept, we resort to images of things we know. The Holy Trinity is the Christian concept of God. Understanding who God is a difficult task, since God is wholly other and unique to all that we know. Knowing who God is through the revelation given through the Prophets, Apostles and Jesus Christ should be the desire of every Christian.
God has often revealed who He is throughout history. He revealed Himself to Abraham and Moses. At the appointed time, He revealed Himself through the Son, Jesus Christ. But Jesus was not a mere human miracle-worker or rabbi. He claimed divinity (Jn. 6:25–59) and accepted worship (Matt. 28:9) which would have been blasphemous in Jewish society. His claim to divinity were not explicit “I am God” statements but rather alluded to a relationship with Yahweh, who had often been revealed to the Israelites. The Gospel According to John presents the revelation of God as a Trinity. That Jesus Christ was with God in the beginning and that he was very God confirms a very distinct understanding of God. This Gospel also reveals that there is the Holy Spirit of God which shares the essence of divinity with the Father and the Son. 
Jesus Christ, God incarnate in human flesh revealed the nature of God. His revelation of God was not in material terms but in relationality and character traits. It was not a hierarchy but a mutual relationship. It was not only that the Word lived (dwelt) with us but he dwells within us (“Abide in me as I abide in you” Jn. 15:4). We see within this revelation of God a new kind of living in relationship with God and also in relationship to fellow humans. The Trinitarian God is not an abstraction to study but a community which the Church is called to become. The Trinitarian God is the epitome of love to which the children of God are called to express in their lives.
PRAYER
O Holy and Glorious Trinity, who created all things, redeemed the broken world and continually perfects, help us to seek you and know you. Keep us in the radiance of your light that we may become lights which guide the lost towards you.  In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Thought of the day
Do we desire to know God in deeper and stronger sense each day? Are we searching the Scriptures and meditating on them? Do we pray for God’s grace so that our relationship with God is strengthened? Do we worship God in spirit and truth? Let us strive to continually seek the Lord.

Rev. Jeswin Simon John
Ascension Mar Thoma Church, Philadelphia

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