With the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, God’s revelation of himself was complete. The early Christians maintained their faith that there is only one God, yet realized that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were distinct from each other. Several centuries of theological reflection were necessary for the Church to define the doctrine as we know it.
But even as the Church refined her understanding of God’s internal life as one God in three Persons, she proclaimed God’s nature as revealed in Scripture. God had revealed to Moses that he is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and rich in kindness. Then the Christian revelation proclaimed, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16).
Loving and giving are the results of God’s character, and we’re to grow more like him as our spiritual life matures. We should ask ourselves how much we can give of our time, our talent, and our treasure, and still fulfill our other responsibilities, not how little. Then our souls will be growing toward the likeness of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – whose nature is to love and to give.
