Trinitarian Words

Bound up in the being of the Triune God is a God who speaks. John says in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And it was through this Word that the worlds sprang into existence. Because we are made in the image and likeness of the Trinity we cannot help but imitate this. We speak words, and our words either create worlds of beauty, joy, and order, or else they are words the create worlds of heartache, confusion, and shame. Of course this is true of everyone to a degree, but in the Christian family, the Father sits in a unique place to create the world of his home. The words of a Father make and unmake the world of his family.

Often there are two extremes the men fall into and both are essentially Unitarian heresies; both deny the Trinity. There are the Deist Unitarians. Because God has not spoken, because there is no Word, no Trinity, their adherents cannot speak. These Unitarians find themselves distantly related to a world but refuse to speak, refuse to undertake the challenging work of creating a world of life and light and joy in their homes. They know it’s going to be hard, they might face opposition, and maybe they’ve been burned in the past. But not speaking, refusing to create is selfish, cowardly, and unfaithful to God’s commands.

Then there are the Muslim Unitarians. This Unitarian god has no Word, has no Trinity, and is mad about the whole deal. Husbands who act like Allah cannot incarnate their word, they cannot love with their words, they can only bark commands, make demands, and insist that their wills be carried out to perfection. But this is no less selfish, no less cowardly; this god refuses to love, this god cannot love. He refuses to risk his very life for the world. But we serve the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Fathers/Husbands, you are called upon to imitate this glorious community. Incarnate your words, live them, and let your words be words of love. Send your words into the world of your family and send them so that they can die for the life of your family. Send your words into the world so that they can save, heal, and resurrect. Because Jesus is the Word made flesh who dwelt among us, and God sent his Word into the World that we might have life in the Spirit.