by Shannon Rayford

Created on: June 23, 2008   Last Updated: April 03, 2009

"My God, my God, Why have thou forsaken me?"(Matthew 27:46)

I have heard many people ask, if the trinity is true, then was Jesus talking to Himself? It would seem so, wouldn't it? Well, in a way He was and in another He wasn't. I have considered this myself, but I found a passage that answers many of the questions I had about the trinity. Philippians 2:5-7 says, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." I believe this passage is saying that when Jesus came as a man, He was true to that. Confusing? I use to think so too, then I was reminded of an experience I had when I was younger.

When I was in college I took a job at a distribution center. The warehouse hired college students for the summer to perform various jobs. After our constant complaining about the extreme heat, our manager decided he would prove to us that we were just whining college students and decided to work with us for a day. When he came in the next day in his shorts and old college tee-shirt ready to sweat with the rest of us, he was very surprised that we were not at all impressed with his idea. We weren't impressed because, even though he was dressed like us and doing the same job as we were doing, he was still not the same as us. He was still the boss. He wasn't going to fire himself, write himself up, or chastise himself. We knew that the next day he would be in his cool air-conditioned office while we would still be in the warehouse sweating. He was not the same as us because he had more power than us.

When God came as man in the form of Jesus Christ, He came justly. He allowed himself to suffer just as we suffer. He allowed himself to be afraid just as we get afraid. He prayed to God just as we pray to God. He even allowed himself to die. What if Jesus would have come proclaiming Himself as God and not allowed Himself to suffer? What if He would have struck all the non-Believers down? What if He would have taken Himself off of that cross and not been crucified? If He did all those things, there would be no faith in Christianity. There would be proof. Some may believe proof isn't so bad, but it can be.

If you are in a relationship with someone would you want to have to prove everything to them? Would you want to have to show them your pay stub to prove how much money you make? Would you want to have to show them your phone records to prove you're not calling another woman or man? Would you want to have to wear a tracking device to prove your whereabouts? I don't think so. A part of loving someone is having faith in them and having faith in them is not having to prove everything. You should trust there word without proof. That's what Jesus wants.

If my manager would have done what Jesus did, he would have written himself up taking a longer lunch break. He would have fired himself if he deserved it. He would have chastised himself for goofing off, but he did none of that. Jesus did not cheat us by wearing the same clothes as man and doing the same job as man, but not allowing himself to suffer as man like my manager did. He came fairly.

So, when Jesus is asking "why have thou forsaken me" it does not mean the trinity is not true. It means that Jesus humbled himself and allowed himself to feel as we feel. He humbled himself so that Christianity wouldn't be based on proof and facts, but on faith and love. Think of it like a manager coming in late and writing himself up for it. Who knows a manager who would do that? A fair boss? A phrase that would be considered an oxymoron when speaking of anyone besides Jesus Christ.

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