God is Three in One
Once upon a time, there was a family of birds that lived in a tree near a park. There was a Dada Bird, a Mama Bird, and the little birds: Duff, Puff, Gruff, Ruff & Tuff, and Fluff.
It was church day for the little animals, and since it was such a nice day, they all decided to have their church gathering at the park. The little bird family was there, along with Charlie the Bear, Mama Bear, Little Bear, Maria the Chicken and her chicks, Harold and Harriet the horses, Roscoe, Squeeker, and Muchacho the Mole.
Dada Bird started their time of worship with a prayer. He said, “Dear Father, thank you so much for your love. Thank you for sending your Son to die on the cross for our sins and for making a way for us to become your children. We love you. Amen.” All the animals then sang some worship songs including Puff’s favorite, “What a Beautiful Name,” which sings:
“You were the Word at the beginning
One With God the Lord Most High
Your hidden glory in creation
Now revealed in You our Christ
What a beautiful Name it is
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King”
After a great time singing to God, Charlie the Bear taught from God’s word. He read from God’s book about how the Holy Spirit, who is God, actually lives inside those that believe in Jesus.
“God calls us His temple – His dwelling place!” Charlie exclaimed.
After spending some time encouraging one another, the animals all went home for lunch. When the little birds finished their mac and cheese, they met up with Squeeker, Roscoe, and Muchacho at the park. They decided to play in the sandbox and see who could make the tallest sand castle. It was great fun and everyone was having a good time.
Then Muchcaho asked a question, “Duff, do you know what Charlie the Bear meant when he said that the Holy Spirit is God? I thought that the Father is God.”
Duff replied, “Well, I’m not sure. Maybe he didn’t mean to say that.”
Roscoe jumped in saying, “No, the Holy Spirit isn’t God – just the Father.”
“But what about Jesus? He is God!” Squeeker shouted.
“How can He be?” Roscoe retorted, “He is the Son. That means He’s less.”
“No! Remember the song we sang? It said Jesus is ‘one with God the Lord…’” Puff joined in.
“That’s a song, not God’s word!” Roscoe responded, now quite frustrated.
One after another the little birds and their friends kept arguing back and forth until Squeeker got so angry that he threw some sand on Roscoe’s head. Ruff quickly flew to the nest to get Dada Bird to help.
When Dada arrived, Roscoe had Squeeker half buried in the sand.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, little ones,” Dada started, “What is going on here?”
Roscoe explained that Squeeker was all wrong about Jesus being God. But Squeeker interrupted to defend himself. Then Dada Bird lifted Squeeker out of the sand and said,
“Tell you what, I’ll help all of you understand who God is, but we’ll need to make a little trip. Come, follow me!” And off he flew into the woods.
The little birds took flight as well and Roscoe, Squeeker, and Muchacho ran on the ground beneath them.
“Where are we going?” yelled Muchacho.
“To a banana tree!” Dada Bird answered.
Muchacho looked confused and decided to wait until they stopped to ask more questions. Together the birds and their friends traveled through the woods, over a stream, and over some hills before they arrived at a small field. In the middle of the field stood the strangest looking tree any of them had ever seen. Dada Bird landed on the top of the tree and smiled.
“This, my little ones, is a banana tree. No one knows how it got here, or even how it survives, but it produces some of the most delicious bananas you’ll ever eat,” said Dada. He then picked a banana off the tree and peeled it. Using one of his wings, he pushed a few feathers down the center of the banana. The little birds and their friends watched with great curiosity.
“How many bananas do I have?” asked Dada Bird.
Roscoe replied, “One!”
“That’s correct! And when I pushed through the top of the banana, how many parts appeared?”
“Three!” Squeeker shouted with excitement.
“Yes! And each of the three parts is completely banana in essence – but there’s only one banana. This is similar to God. There is one God, but He is three persons. Each person is completely God – but there aren’t three Gods, just one. The Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. But there is one God! Do you understand?”
“Ummm, kinda,” Puff replied.
“And that’s about as close as we’ll get,” Dada said with a smile. “It’s okay if you don’t completely understand. Some things about God are hard to grasp. That’s what makes Him God.”
Squeeker looked at Dada Bird and asked, “Can I have some of that banana?”
Dada Bird smiled and picked enough bananas for everyone to share. They had a banana picnic and apologized to one another for arguing. Each of the little birds and their friends took turns splitting their bananas into three parts and talked about how amazing God truly is.
The End