The Trinity

Spiritual Training Cycle: Unity (wk. 1/13)

Reading: Ephesians 1:1-14

Are you ready for this? 25% of this year is already in the books. I pray this year is progressing well for you, and that you are still on plan for the goals you set. If not, take hope! You still have plenty of days left to connect deeply to God and grow from your relationship with Him. We’re beginning a new training cycle this quarter with a focus on unity. In quarter one we were all about surrender. We learned about the grace God freely gives us; We grew in our spiritual exercises through the discipline of fasting; And we learned the power of forgiveness. That’s what surrender really is. To kick off quarter two’s focus on unity, we’ll start by looking at the unity of our God through the spiritual concept of the Trinity.

In the closing chapter of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives some final instruction to His disciples which is known as the Great Commission.

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

The Father, the Son, and the Spirit – three persons but one essence. This is the foundation for the term “trinity.” If you did a quick word search on-line, you'd discover this term is absent from the Bible. That’s right. There’s not one Scripture with the word, “Trinity.” But the concept of God as three in one is everywhere you look in the Bible, even at the beginning of Genesis. In the very first verse of the Bible, Moses calls God Elōhim. This Hebrew word most commonly refers to God in the plural form. But we don’t worship multiple gods, and Moses knew this. The second verse reveals more of the story when Moses writes, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” And just a few verses later, God says, “Let us make humanity in our image, in our likeness.” There’s the early emergence of the Trinity. What Jesus clearly describes as Father, Son, and Spirit is evidenced at the start. The Trinity isn’t a New Testament idea. It’s the God we worship. One essence, three persons, and three distinct functions.

First, there’s God the Father, who distinctly functions as the Creator. The Father made all things. In his book Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith, Michael Reeves describes it this way, “Creation is a work of grace, flowing from God’s love.” The Father is the Creator. Then, there’s the Son, Jesus, who distinctly functions as the Restorer. Jesus’ death and resurrection had one purpose – to restore the relationship of humanity to God. Because Jesus died for us, we are raised to new life in Him. Our hearts are restored, our souls are restored, all through the work of Jesus and Jesus alone. Finally, there’s the Spirit, who distinctly functions as the sustainer. In some mysterious way, the Holy Spirit is imparted to those who put their faith in Jesus. The Spirit upholds and maintains believers until our final redemption. He also sustains us in our spiritual growth, teaching and guiding us deeper into God’s truth and the realization of a life of shalom.

Over the course of this month, I encourage you to mediate and consider God as three in one. Reflect on how the Father, Son, and Spirit have touched your life, and how you might share your stories with others. Jesus was clear in His commission to go and make. The Trinity is more than just some theological term, it’s the fabric of God.

Questions for Reflection:

Of the three functions (Creator, Restorer, Sustainer), which one do you gravitate to the most?

Why do you think God left the word “Trinity” our of the Bible?

Weight Loss

Spiritual Training Cycle: Surrender (wk. 13/13)

Reading: John 8:1-11

As I stepped outside this morning, I was greeted by the fragrance of a mountain laurel tree. For those of you not in Texas, mountain laurels produce these beautiful purple flowers that smell better than any boutique hotel you’ve ever walked into. Blooming mountain laurels can only mean one thing – Spring. And they’re not the only thing in bloom. Trees, flowers, grasses are all beginning to come alive as a demonstration of God’s restorative power. I’ve also began to see the early emergence of another kind of bloom – the weighted vest. If you’re a veteran CrossFitter, you know we’re on the eight-week runway to Murph. And for many athletes this time of year, including me, the focus is weight loss.

The definition of CrossFit is increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains. As we grow in our fitness, we’re able to move larger loads across longer distances. But if you really want to maximize all your work in the gym, consider being the lightest load moving the largest load. Weight loss can have a huge impact not just on performance, but stamina in general. Let’s take a hypothetical athlete named Trey.

Let’s say Trey weighs 243 pounds. He shows up Monday for a mixture of burpees and farmer carry. Over the course of five rounds, Trey’s going to fall to the ground and get up 100 times and he’s going to carry two 50-pound dumbbells a total distance of 1,000 meters. If we do some quick math factoring in Trey’s bodyweight, he’s going to move a total of 24,300 pounds in the burpees (243 X 100), and he’s going to carry 343 pounds for 1,000 meters.

Now let’s say Trey breaks the carb addiction, dials the alcohol back, and loses 20 pounds. Just in the burpees alone, he’ll move 2,000 fewer pounds over the same workout. And his farmer carry is going to be easier as well, meaning he’ll go faster or expend less energy to move at the same pace he did when he was 20 pounds heavier. When weight loss is in your training plan, the goal should not be a specific weight. Rather, the goal is to “feel light.” If you know, you know.

When it comes to spiritual fitness, weight matters as well. Spiritual fitness is the development and consistent practice of exercises that connect you to God. Spiritually speaking, your fitness also helps you move large loads long distances. And you need that fitness because life brings load. Unlike the gym, we often don’t know when the difficulties we face will come to an end. But you know what makes it easier? Being the lightest load moving the largest load. And you may be carrying some unnecessary weight with the burden of self-forgiveness. The English Preacher Charles Spurgeon, a.k.a. your spiritual fitness coach, says it like this:

“If Christ has taken your sins upon Himself, - and He has truly done so if you have truly trusted Him, then your sins have ceased to be; they are blotted out forever.”

Blotted out forever. So, while God has forgiven you for the thing you said or the thing you did or the way you treated that person, you’re still carrying the shame or guilt or condemnation and it’s weighing you down. It’s time to forgive yourself. When I say that forgiveness is freedom, I mean it. It’s incredibly freeing, and I know from first-hand experience. In the past, I’ve said some mean and hurtful things to my wife. Things that I regret and wished I had never said. But she’s forgiven me. God’s forgiven me. And until I learned to start forgiving myself, I didn’t realize how heavy my life had been. Even when things were good, I was still walking around with the weight of shame and embarrassment. It was time to let go. It was time for weight loss.

Questions for Reflection:

Do you or anyone you know struggle with forgiving themselves? Why do you think it’s a struggle?

What has God forgiven you for that you’re still holding on to?

Operator Error

Spiritual Training Cycle: Surrender (wk. 12/13)

Reading: Genesis 45:1-15

When I began my coaching career in 2009, I expected a lot from my athletes, especially when it came to progress. I loved to see people make progress and I loved to celebrate their success. And while I still do, I don’t place the same weight on it I once did, because I learned something valuable along the way from an athlete named Marcus. When Marcus first joined the gym, he was new to CrossFit but not new to fitness. He was on what I call a comeback. It wasn’t long before he started responding to our coaching cues, improving his points of performance, and generating a wave of consistency. Every time Marcus walked in the gym, I thought to myself, “This guy is really getting it.” And then one day, Marcus hit a wall. His performance started to diminish, his strength plateaued, and his coach (me) was flabbergasted. What could it be? I started through the rolodex of issues in my mind, all of which centered on him. Was he losing his commitment? Was he staying up too late bingeing shows or playing videogames? In short, I blamed it on him. A few days later I overheard two athletes talking about Marcus, and how he had recently lost his job. They knew it was taking a toll on him and they hoped he would find another job soon. It was then I realized I had it all wrong. This was a case of operator error.

When it comes to people, why do we get it wrong? No doubt you’ve been sure about someone’s motives, only to find out it was never really that at all. When psychologists studied the way we evaluate others, they discovered what I experienced with Marcus. It’s called fundamental attribution error (a.k.a. operator error). Harvard Business School defines it this way:

The fundamental attribution error refers to an individual's tendency to attribute another's actions to their character or personality, while attributing their behavior to external situational factors outside of their control. In other words, you tend to cut yourself a break while holding others 100 percent accountable for their actions.

Which is exactly what I did with Marcus. Think about it. Have you ever missed a workout? Have you ever had a fitness slump? Of course you have. When that happens, are you more apt to blame your character or your circumstances? When you walk back in the gym, do you tell the coach you’re worthless or that you’ve been busy? Exactly. But when it comes to others, we don’t cut them the same slack. I was ready to drag Marcus to the woodshed and let him know that his character was sabotaging his fitness. Instead, turns out the guy lost his job and was trying to figure out his next move. His situation was the culprit, not his integrity.

We can face a similar struggle in our journey to forgive others. Forgiveness is choosing how to live with the painful consequences of another’s action. Forgiveness is not an emotion, it’s an action. When we choose to forgive, we give others what God gave us. But before I forgive, I often find myself trying to figure out why someone hurt me to begin with. Without a doubt, my first thought is character. It’s because of who they are that they did what they did. There’s that good old operator error again. The truth is we don’t know why people do the things they do. And most of the time, we’ll never know. But the more convinced of the motive we are, the less likely we are to forgive. Remember, forgiveness doesn’t heal the other person – it heals you.

But choosing to forgive may require some adjustments in your life. You may need to put up some new boundaries, to keep someone from hurting you again. You may need to have a heartfelt conversation and muster up the courage to tell them how what they did made you feel. You may also need to adjust to the idea that forgiving is not forgetting. When you forgive, you forgive the person, not the offense. The memory of what happened may fade over time, but it will always linger somewhere. Set yourself free from the burden of grudges. Give the gift of forgiveness and avoid operator error.

Questions for Reflection:

Do you find you attribute someone’s actions to their personality or character more than their circumstances?

Does our perspective of why people hurt us impact our ability to forgive them?