The Trinity

I once heard an Army chaplain say he still feels guilty over a sermon he gave years ago. He had given a children's sermon and tried to explain the Trinity. On the way home in the car, he asked his son if he understood the lesson and what he thought of the Trinity. His son said "It's crowded in there!"

The closest way I've come to think of the Trinity is the ocean. The ocean itself is like the Father, who is Himself Spirit. If we were in the ocean, we would be surrounded by the ocean just as the Father's Spirit surrounds us, full of depths and things we don't understand. In Him we live and breathe and have our being the Bible says. The waves are like JESUS. That's the part of the Trinity we interact with. We know how waves act. We can see them and feel them and understand them at least some. The Holy Spirit is like the scent of the ocean, the sea breeze. Just a sniff and we are immediately reminded of everything we know about the ocean, the depths and the waves as well. The Spirit is like that, bringing to mind all that JESUS says about Himself and all the Bible says about JESUS and the Father. They are all distinct, yet all one at the same time.

Anyway, that's the best way I've come up with to understand the Trinity. But it sure must be crowded in there! :)