In Anglican services we frequently recite the Nicene Creed, stating our belief in one God, but also affirming that the God in whom we believe is both one and three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The doctrine of the Trinity was instilled in me from childhood. I even learnt a rhyme about it: ‘Three in One and One in Three; the glorious Holy Trinity’. I didn’t understand what it meant, but I still remember it.
Like eternity and the theory of relativity, the Trinity is something that does not become easier for me to understand the more I think about it. Analogies such as three torches with one combined flame, or water in its three states of liquid, ice and steam, don’t quite hit the spot for me. I am happier accepting the Trinity as a beautiful mystery that is beyond my understanding.
Nevertheless, I find the Trinity helpful in shedding light on the nature of the one God in whom I believe. A God who is one, but also three, epitomises diversity. A diverse God, who is also one God, epitomises unity. But the unity of God is not about the singularity of a mere unit: rather, it is about the unity of persons bound together in a relationship of dynamic love. That is what we call community.
This is the nature of the one God in whom I believe: a God of diversity and community, united in love.
Duncan McCall
