It’s sort of like a theological party game: what’s the most important word in the Bible? Jesus? Love? Mission? God? Sin? Mercy? What do you think?
Theologian Samuel Wells says the most important word in the Bible is… with. It’s a trick question, but I have to agree: The most important word in the Bible is with.
The Trinity is, at heart, about with: about what Christians call perichoresis. This is the dance in which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one being, existing through their mutual relationship. And God is always gathering all humanity into that undivided relationship, bringing us all into life with God.
Notice: with, not for. God is not for us in the sense that God is always going to be giving us exactly what we want, protecting us from illness and harm, and making us rich. God is just with us. God sticks with us. Delights in us, plays with us, suffers and abides with us. In trouble and in doubt, when everything goes perfectly and when everything falls apart: God is with us.
This message is excerpted from “With you” by Sara Miles in the June 2015 Gather magazine. Today is Holy Trinity Sunday.
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