Imagine a wife saying to her husband, “There’s something about me that’s very dear to my heart and yet you don’t know, something that I’ve tried to tell you in the past but you just haven’t got it. It really matters to me and to our relationship that you understand this. But it isn’t the easiest thing to understand. I’m asking you, ‘Will you listen? Will you let me share with you something very, very important to understanding who I am, something that can make a big difference to the quality of our relationship with each other?” What husband would not be stirred into listening, if only out of shame and embarrassment?
Now imagine God saying something like this, “There’s something about me that I’ve told you, but you’ve not been that interested in understanding. Now, it isn’t the easiest thing to understand, but it matters, and I really care that you get this. I am one God, but I am also three. I am one God only as I am Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and this makes a difference to how you see me and how we relate to one another. It matters in terms of how I do my work, who I am eternally, and how I’ve made you. I’ve told you about this in my Word, but you haven’t yet seen the beauty and wonder of what I’ve said. So now, will you listen to something I care about very dearly and deeply, and will you take it to heart?” Why should we bother with trying to understand the Trinity? Because that’s who God is, and God cares very much that we see him for who he is and relate to him as he is. [Adapted from Bruce Ware, Father, Son and Holy Spirit].