For many people God is at best, an abstract omni-being out there in the cosmos somewhere who is real, but pretty much irrelevant. We pray to Him but we’re not really sure who we are praying to and not sure if we ever get through.  At worst, God is a legalist who cares only about His rules and our ability to keep them. And when we don’t, He is ready to audit the ledger and damn us to hell.

God is not some faceless, indifferent abstraction. And He is not some transcendental shylock in the sky demanding a pound of flesh from His creation.

Your view of God will influence and impact literally everything else in your life. So, it’s critical to get this one right.

God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit…

existing in a shared life of communion, intimacy and camaraderie. Self-giving, other-centered, unconditional love, joy, peace, aliveness, passion, creativity, adventure and mutual delight characterize this Triune life. There is no emptiness, depression, fear or anxiety in this family. Only a love so deep and pure that it gives rise to togetherness, to a one-ness that is inseparable. This is what our friend, Baxter Kruger calls:

He speaks the entire cosmos—earth, humanity, heaven and all things—into existence. And the astonishing purpose of this creative activity? Extending the Dance to us. This Triune God who needs nothing and needs no one is “philanthropical.” The Father, Son and Spirit do not hoard their Triune life. Instead, they have grafted us, adopted us into it so that we too, can encounter and experience their fellowship, goodness, wisdom, creativity, laughter and joy. Out of sheer delight, God created us to enjoy the life shared by the Father and the Son through the Spirit so that the Great Dance could be played out in our ordinary lives–lives that are really, anything but ordinary.

This is why there is more going on in your life than you ever dreamed.

You’re not just being a mother, father or spouse. You’re not just someone’s kid. You’re not just going to work. You’re circle of friends are not just people you laugh and love and cry and socialize with. You’re not just going camping, skiing, fishing or running. The parties, concerts, ball games and car races you go to aren’t just another event. These are the very ways in which the relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the fellowship of the Triune God and the Great Dance of life is expressed through us.

Had God not created humanity, there would be no one with whom to share this beautiful Triune life. And, had Jesus not stepped out of eternity to be Emanuel (God with us) we would never know how our lives intersect with, connect with and are one with the life shared by the Trinity.

The Father’s dream, from before the creation of all things, is that the entire cosmos would be alive with the glory of God, filled with the Great Dance of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The deepest longing of our souls is to be written into this circle of life, to be given a place in it and to be filled with it.

Jesus came to show us the Father He sees and knows, to show us that we share in the delight the Father has in His beloved Son, and to share in the freedom that comes from this unearthly assurance.

You are included!

Regardless of how you were raised and what you have heard, the GOOD NEWS is this: The Trinity so delights in you that They have welcomed you into the Dance. You are included. Period. This has not happened because you have faith or kept a set of rules or are a “good person.” It has happened because of God’s eternal purpose and plan and because of what Jesus has done. You have been drawn into the circle of their shared life so that you can experience it with them and so that the Dance can be expressed in your life.
You/we are God’s beloved. This is almost unbelievable, but it is so.

LIFE is about understanding what the Dance is, waking up to it and living in it. As we do, we will live loved. We will live in the unearthly assurance that we are his and he is terribly fond of us.