The 1st Veil - Logic

I wrote about our Bible study on Hebrews, expounding on 'Jesus is God' and my reflection on the 'wedding veil' over our hearts in my earlier post here. 

Not exactly the kind of veil that the Apostle Paul wrote about to the Corinthians Church in 2 Cor. 

2 Cor 3:13-16 Unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Truly that veil has been taken away and lifted in Christ. 

The veil I was talking about was the veil of flesh, worldly thinking, pride, traditions, religion...Things which hinder us from receiving revelation from the Lord and from fully knowing Him. 

I went jogging with my son early one morning. 

While we jogged in the cool breeze of the early hours, I had this conversation with him.

(Now, my son has a special needs condition where medically he has mild to moderate intellectual impairment. He is slower in academics, as compared to other children his age. 

Medically also, he has all sorts of other possible medical complications. He is 10 now but is often mistaken as 5-6 years old, due to his shorter stature and also his child-like nature - both physical and his general demeanour. But other than that, he is a healthy child.)

Here's how our conversation went. 

Me: Daniel, is Jesus God?

Daniel: Yes.

Me: Is God God?

Daniel: Ya. 

Me: Is Holy Spirit God?

Daniel: Ya.

Me: Do we have 3 gods then? 

Daniel: No. 

(His answer was the 'no, of course not' type of no. So, try to imagine in your mind and hear a matter-of-fact tone when you read this. 😅)

I asked again.  

Me: How many God do we have?'

Daniel: One. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

It wasn't that he doesn't know that God, Jesus and HS counts as 3 in mathematical sense, not 1. It is 1+1+1=3. 

Yet, he was very sure - we have 1 God. 

If you ask him how is it that there is God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit but 1 God, I don't think he will be able to answer or explain. And in a sense, maybe he himself doesn't understand it completely too. 

But that did not hinder him from knowing this truth.

That morning, I slowed down and let my son walked on ahead. As I looked at him from the back, walking ahead of me, I found the answer to my question earlier. 

Could it be that the greatest hindrance to truly and fully knowing a biblical truth is our sense of logic? 

Often times, our cognitive function puts a veil over our knowing. 

Because, well, 1+1+1 clearly equals 3. 

How can 3 be 1? 

We can have all the analogies of 3 in 1 instant drinks or the 3 state of water - solid, liquid, vapour to help us picture and understand Trinity. 

But they all fall short of the truth still. 

Because the coffee, creamer and sugar in a 3 in 1 sachet are not distinct - you can't separate the coffee out from the creamer nor from the sugar. 

Because water at any 1 time can only exist in 1 of the 3 stages - you can't have the same molecule of water existing as solid and liquid and vapour, all at the same time. 

We are, then, left with a logical question - How can it be? The logical mind has reached a blockage and unable to process, unable to proceed. 

This blockage can only be broken down with the opening of spiritual eyes and spiritual understanding. 

I read this today. It was talking about the narrative nature of the Bible, how the Bible was written in a circle, rather than in a linear line. In describing this, the authors wrote, "In other words, biblical logic defies logic." (Pg. xix, Jesus A Theography, Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola.)

What a profound truth - Biblical logic defies logic. 

Indeed, the things of God often defy normal logic. Defy intellect. Defy tradition. Defy man-made belief. 

That morning, I didn't pursue my conversation with my boy further - I didn't want to cloud his mind with mathematics or logic. 😅

I looked at my son who was walking ahead of me. I was filled with thanksgiving for the simpleness and the openness of his heart.

And I prayed, "My beloved son, may you keep this clear understanding of the things of God always." 

And dear ones in Christ, 

Let us take off this first veil of human logic and rationale and reasoning.  

Let us come to our triune God with a child-like heart and an open mind.