A check engine light on my Jeep lit up, so I started a search to discover the problem. When an investigation of the owner’s manual left me vague, I jumped to the internet. After perusing a few articles, I hit on a YouTube video that explained the situation and what I needed to do next. I found it helpful to watch someone with a similar issue tell me what to check, rather than decipher instructions from the page.

Clarity is a wonderful thing.

The same is true as we read the Bible and develop our beliefs about God. As a young believer, I wondered how the three persons of the Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—actually work together? The word trinity is not used anywhere in the Scriptures, so how did this concept arise? Then I discovered these lines:

When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Paul (the author of the passage) laid out this statement of clarity regarding the means of our salvation. God saved us through his own goodness and loving kindness, not our inherent qualities. He washed us, regenerated our souls and renewed our hearts by pouring the Holy Spirit into our lives via the grace of Jesus Christ. Father, Son and Holy Spirit working as one to mold lost sinners into heirs of God possessing the hope of eternal life.

From these thoughts I understand better the undeserved grace of God who turns lives from death to life. I picture a bit more clearly the actions of the Trinity. It’s one reason why I appreciate the works of Paul. He’s clear in his teachings and his arguments. I may not like all I read, but I know what I’m wrestling with.

I ran my Jeep by the dealer to be sure my self-diagnostic was accurate. No major repair needed, just an adjustment. Clarity is a wonderful thing, both when is comes to the riddles of vehicles and to the profound mysteries of God.

Titus 3:4-7

Photo by Sigmund