Fresh Footprints - In Search Of A Lost Godনমুনা

The sacred dance of the Trinity weaves a three-fold pattern of justice, mercy and humility, which is the heart of sacrificial love. Drawing us into the dance is an act of undeserved grace.

Justice determines the fundamental laws of nature that reliably govern how the universe operates. For example, without the gravitational constant we would not be able to put up satellites for our communication systems, or fly aircraft, or even get out of bed safely.

The law of contingency is the one that gives us cause and effect, which can be for good or ill. This is where we are confronted with moral choice – to love sacrificially as God loves, or to negate love and do harm. Again, there are always consequences, and this is where the moral law of God comes into play. We reap what we sow.

The mercy of God offers us a fresh start, a resurrection. It is directed towards people who have failed to love God and one another. Those who have fallen short of the standard may deserve judgement but instead can receive a forgiveness that is freely offered to all who want it. Unconditionally offered, no one is disqualified from applying.

Jesus did not come to see how many people he could condemn to hell. ‘For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him’ (John 3:17). Nor did he come to launch a religion called Christianity. Jesus wants the entire prodigal human race back in relationship with God. To achieve that, he came to abolish religion as a form of rules and regulations, rituals and sacrifices, and to replace it with grace.

This is where we encounter the humility of God. He who needs nothing, created us to love him, and when we didn’t he came down to win us in person. That God should want us, desire us, love us in spite of what we are like, is amazing. It tells us that God is vulnerable, so we can have a genuine relationship with him. A proud autonomous God would not need prayer, would not agree to respond to our requests, would not discuss his plans with us, certainly would not change his mind as a result of a conversation with us. A humble God, one whose essential nature includes the ‘death’ aspect will do precisely that.