Vision of You

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

-2 Corinthians 13:14

Understanding the Trinity can be a complex process.

My family's priest, Father Jack, explained the Trinity extremely well through using the excellent visual given to us by St. Augustine, while adjusting it ever-so slightly:

(>>the original

And when St. Augustin beheld him he marvelled, and demanded him what he did. And he answered and said: "I will lade out and bring all this water of the sea into this pit."

"What?" said he, "it is impossible, how may it be done, sith the sea is so great and large, and thy pit and spoon so little?"

"Yes, forsooth," said he, "I shall lightlier and sooner draw all the water of the sea and bring it into this pit than thou shalt bring the mystery of the Trinity and His Divinity into thy little understanding as to the regard thereof; for the Mystery of the Trinity is greater and larger to the comparison of thy wit and brain than is this great sea unto this little pit."

<<)

There was a little boy playing in the sand by the sea. The boy made a pit in the sand and would collect water from the sea to place in the pit. Once there was enough water pressure, the water would trickle down as a stream back to the ocean.

God is like water. He can be the ocean (Father), the water in the pit (Jesus), and the water flowing down the stream (Holy Spirit) simultaneously. Yet, He is still water--the properties still staying appropriate to the bonding of many water molecules. He is God, and He is everywhere, all at once.

Just as Augustine mentioned, our understanding of the Trinity is above our understanding. However, through God's own creation He is able to reveal even more of His divinity.

When I Think About the Lord

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with the power of the Holy Spirit.

-Romans 15:13

“Guess who was up til 3:53 writing my paper?

I just cranked it out…

I was running on Mountain Dew and the Holy Spirit.”

-Dave C

How many of us can actually say that we rely on the Holy Spirit on the daily? How many of us can actually say that we use Him to help us with the small things, such as a paper? How many of us actually fully understand what it means to rely on His Spirit?

I encourage us all to start "running on...the Holy Spirit," rather than just relying on Him for little things here and there. He needs to be our sole means for every action and thought that we may have.

But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.

-Jude 1:20

All My Heart

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

-Deuteronomy 6:5

So recently, a couple of my friends and I have been talking about "physical boundaries" in romantic relationships. Through various discussions I've come to a conclusion. God is a God of yes, not of no. God is not a God of boundaries, in fact He's a God of no bounds.

This is love for God: to obey his commands.

And his commands are not burdensome,

-1 John 5:3

These "boundaries" that we have fabricated (i.e. We can kiss, but no making out. Or, we can do anything, as long as it's not "sex") through reading the gospels and Leviticus, so on and so forth, are created so that as Christians, we can approach them without any guilt. Going as far as we can before we "fall off the cliff," so to speak.

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD

your God ask of you but to fear

the LORD your God,

to walk in all his ways,

to love him, to serve the LORD your God

with all your heart and with all your soul,

-Deuteronomy 10:12

I say let there be no boundaries. Have no boundaries in loving Christ, and serving Him through your partner. Have Christ be the complete focus of your relationship. You are in this relationship with the only person on Earth that you have found to be the most Christ-like. If you create these boundaries that make you want to approach them more and more, as you get closer spiritually and emotionally to your partner, what kind of respect and love are you using towards Christ---who dwells in your partner?

This is how God showed his love among us:

He sent his one and only Son

into the world that we might live through him.

-1 John 4:9

This is what I'm not saying: to be physical and ignore Christ's commands. No one should be doing this. I'm saying, that if you must set a physical boundary in the relationship, you might be going into the relationship at the wrong angle. Your goal should be to glorify Christ with your purity. To love Him through your partner, by not tainting or destroying the temple that holds His Holy Spirit.

Do you not know that your body is a temple

of the Holy Spirit, who is in you,

whom you have received from God?

You are not your own;

-1 Corinthians 6:19

Everyone is convicted about certain things they will or will not be partaking in during the relationship, but where's the focus? What things should you be doing in the relationship? You should be serving and loving Christ, with no bounds. No boundaries. Zero. Get rid of anything in the relationship if they cause you to create boundaries on how much you can be loving Christ during the relationship. If putting a boundary on/around what you should be doing physically in a relationship is causing you to create boundaries on how much you can love Him, then get rid of being physical in a relationship. Glorify Him with everything that you have. That should be our focus.

I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.

-2 Corinthians 7:4