Many years ago, Anacin (a now-defunct pain reliever) ran a series of TV ads featuring people who were in distress because of headache pain. The most famous, and most-often pilloried, featured a man working on some difficult project, while being nagged by his mother who was making unhelpful suggestions. The man explodes, saying, “Mother please! I’d rather do it myself!”, and then, remorsefully, in that inner stage voice, says, “you’ve got a headache, you’re upset, you don’t have to take it out on her!” The solution was, of course, two Anacins, but the key line was “Please! I’d rather do it myself!”
Thankfully, in the relationships in the Trinitarian Godhead, we hear nothing of that line of “solo” thinking. In fact, the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus, the Son of God, says very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing (John 5:19). He continues to describe how there is this “like Father like Son” characteristic to the works of God, and then flips the procession, saying that the Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father (John 5:22-23). There is this amazing deference that exists in God. So different from what we hear coming from ourselves as we say, in a million ways, to our own pain and detriment, “please, I’d rather do it myself!”
Having just heard the U.S. President’s State of the Union speech, though I’m pleased to hear him say that he wishes to work together with Congress, nonetheless the undertone of both his speech and the Republican response to the American people is “please, we’d rather do it ourselves!” These days there is such a lack of deference one to another, in Congress, and in the neighborhood, such a difficulty in our working together, side by side, under the leadership of the God Who does the same within Himself.
We who claim the Name of Jesus Christ can do better than that. We can acknowledge that, like the Son of God, truly we can do nothing on our own. Not only are we desperate for the influence and power of God Who alone enables us to take the filthy rags we bring to the table to turn them into a beautiful tapestry, but also we are always in need of assistance to do the good work of God. We remember that Jesus never sent anyone to do His work on his or her own, but that He always worked with pairs, or groups, or teams. So, whereas others encourage further polarization and anger, we can, in God’s Name, both in the church and in the greater society, promote real unity, cooperation, and mutual progress in order to get good work done. In emulating the loving Life of God in our life with one another and with all people, we can be part of encouraging the loving environment of God to be more present here on His earth. How might you and I emulate the Trinity in our relationships today?
If we did so, wouldn’t that relieve alot of our headaches?
