God is relational. He is one God, in three distinct persons. When the church strayed from emphasizing the Triune nature of God, our concept of God was distorted. Each person of the Trinity indwells the others, without losing individuality. The Trinity is dynamic, eternally giving, and each member shares the exact same nature and substance. There is no competition or conflict as they lovingly relate in reciprocal self-giving and receiving. God did not start loving, giving, and interacting after people were created. Jesus came to earth as the perfect image of the invisible God. And as such, He came not to condemn, but to save. This rescue mindset mirrored the exact heart of the Father. Jesus showed up saying “No one knows the Father, but the Son.” That is a sweeping statement, think about who that included. Are we going to believe Jesus or take the word of people who lived under an old obsolete covenant that were only progressively waking up to who God was? Jesus said He came to give life and give it abundantly. He attributed stealing, killing, and destroying to the Devil. Jesus is clarifying the record, informing humanity who God has always been. God is the life-giving, life-sustaining one who John says IS love. I Corinthians 13 describes agape love. So, does this description not apply to the Trinity? If to be godly IS to love, then let’s see where this leads us. If God is love, then what do we do with Scriptures that portray Him as acting unkindly? If God is love, does He really keep a record of wrongs? Or, not counting our trespasses against us, was He in Christ reconciling the world to HimseIf? Love never gives up on people, so will He? If love never fails, will He? If he tells us not to kill, will He? Would He command the genocide of the Canaanites? Can His love be one thing for Him and another for us? Would He really tell us to be something He is not? Are we intended to be more loving than He is? Of course not! God does not kill, steal, or destroy. God is not interested in punishment, retribution, or retaliation. He is love. He does not rejoice in the death of the wicked. His desire is for the restoration of all things. Jesus came to correct the false view of His Father. Those who should have known Him best did not recognize Him when He showed up in front of them. Instead, they called him a blasphemer and murdered Him. Jesus perfectly displayed the loving nature of the entire Trinity when He lovingly gave His life for us, expressing no desire for vengeance.
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