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Writer's pictureTraci Minor

That Tricky Trinity Thing

You believe in God; believe also in me.


Before I move on to that next verse, there is one more thing that bothers me here. Actually, I should say one thing that bothers me and one thing that encourages me. Which to start with…hmmm…


I think I’ll start with the encouraging thing. Here Jesus is sensing that his followers are distressed. They have troubled hearts, as some versions say. And it would seem that his answer to that distress starts with an acknowledgement of the good: 


You believe in God. 


Not “come on…don’t you believe in God? Or even worse, using their distress as proof that they don’t believe in God. Breathe that in for a minute.


I really don’t want to skip over this because it shows so much about the posture of the heart of Jesus when He sees us in distress. Truth is, when I am troubled, I don’t need anyone else to come down on me, because you can bet I’m doing a great job of that myself. My inner critic is poised and ready to rebuke me at any time, especially in times when I might be lacking in faith. 


But Jesus doesn’t rebuke here. Instead He points out that they have already gotten something right: they believe in God. Like a parent encouraging their child learning to walk, He is saying, “Yes! You're doing great…come on…keep walking…you can do it!” And then, like that same parent leading the child to a greater distance, he says, “...believe in me also.” Isn’t that encouraging? Jesus truly is gentle and humble at heart.


So now for the part that bothers me…


Can I just ask, what is the difference between trusting in God and trusting in Jesus? I am definitely resolved that this verse is not about having an intellectual belief that Jesus really was the son of God that came to the world for the forgiveness of sins. But if we take that belief box off the table, what is the difference? (It is at this point that  I wish we were at a table having coffee, because I would really like to hear your answer!)


My current thought is this. What if experiencing Jesus is different than experiencing  God the Father? And what if Jesus is saying here, “I know you have experienced God in a certain way, but I’ve come here so that you could experience the gentle grace that we (the Trinity) have always had, but that you have overlooked.” 


Personally, I don’t come from a background of a fear based, punishing God, as some do. I have, for the most part, seen God as benevolent. But even with my mild background, I must admit, my God image had a scary edge to it, that I just don’t have with Jesus. 


If I asked you to name five words that come to mind when you think of God, what would they be? Now, do the same for Jesus. (come on…just humor me…it only takes a minute) Is there a difference? If so, in what ways? We learn from the scriptures that Jesus was the exact representation of God. (Heb 1:3) So perhaps, we would do well to have a more Christlike God*. Perhaps we can let our image of God be changed by seeing Him through the filters of Jesus. Perhaps we are supposed to. 


When you are distressed, how do you picture Jesus responding? Is it different from how you would picture God responding? 


I have to admit, the healing I have received from visualizing Jesus tending my wounds has been profound. **Repairing memories by inviting Jesus into them, sitting in quiet companionship with Him, listening to Jesus and writing down what I hear, both alone and with others- all of these have been new, life-altering experiences for me. Somehow, His presence really does feel distinctly different from the Father’s. 


Though I have always had an intellectual understanding of the Trinity…well…understanding might be a stretch for any human! I guess I should say I have always been aware of the concept. OK, let me try that again.  Though I have been aware of the concept of the Trinity, I think my experience was much more limited. My church tradition focused mostly on  hearing God through His Word, so that was my main experience, a beautiful one indeed. And I had felt God’s lead through His Spirit before, on a pretty regular basis. This too was acceptable, though viewed with some skepticism by most. 


But somehow allowing myself to be in the presence of the embodied Christ brought a new kind of security. To feel him with me, to stop regularly and sense His presence in the room, to picture myself sitting next to Him while he does His work, to rest my head on His chest - these have been powerful experiences for sure. 


For some, I’m sure this can sound like mere nuance, and I get that. Perhaps it is. But learning to recognize the voice of my Shepherd (John 10) has made a difference. And perhaps it has been exactly what Jesus was referring to in this one tiny sentence: You believe in God; believe also in me. 


Just a thought…


For your consideration:


What has been your experience with listening to Jesus? How would you explain the difference in hearing from the three sides of the Trinity to someone else? 


*For more on this concept of seeing God through Jesus, rather than the other way around, I highly recommend Bradley Jersak’s A More Christlike God.


**For healing memories I highly recommend The Metanoia Method by Kent & Heather McKean, as well as the Immanuel Encounter Prayer method  https://www.alivewell.org/





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