3 in 1

Recently, I got a haircut. I usually start the haircut on my own using clipper attachments, then Ingrid fine tunes it after I am done doing what I can do. After we were done, I got out the bottle of 3-in-1 oil to lubricate the clippers.

3-in-1 Oil

As soon as I open the bottle of 3-in-1 oil, the smell of it brings back memories. In my childhood home we had a utility closet in the kitchen. The closet had many shelves and drawers that were crammed with all manner of things, among them being hair clippers and a can of 3-in-1 oil. My mom had briefly worked as a hairdresser before she was married. And after my parents married, she was in charge of all the haircuts and perms in the family. Whenever she was done with the hair clippers, she would brush out any stray hairs from the clippers and then put a few drops of 3-in-1 oil on them. This is the main thing I remember this oil being used for. We had a more typical oil can in the basement for use with motors and other things.

But as I got the oil out this time around, I was wondering how it got its name. A quick look at the label seemed to offer up this explanation:

   ✔ Lubricates
   ✔ Prevents Rust
   ✔ Removes & Protects

That last one is a bit cryptic: removes what? Does it remove hair? Maybe that's why I'm bald.

Before we went to Thailand, I used to keep a regular oil can in the garage. But these days I don't do as much mechanical work and so having a small can of 3-in-1 is enough for what I usually do: lubricating things and sharpening knives with my Arkansas sharpening stones.

Another nice thing about 3-in-1 oil is that the name is a reminder of the God I worship. We Christians recognize God as being three "persons": the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So when I pick up my bottle of 3-in-1, it can serve as a reminder that our triune God is present with us all the time, even when doing mundane things like trimming a few locks from the top of my head.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14 - ESV)

Three pillars

This week we are in Sam Roi Yod for the annual gathering of or MB workers from Thailand.  Yesterday afternoon, we had a some time to explore, so we went with a couple of other people to visit Phraya Nakhon cave.

You can't drive to this cave, one either has to take a boat or walk over a hill to a secluded beach, from where you can walk about half a kilometer up the hill to the cave. We opted to take a boat.

On the boat to the cave

Phraya Nakhon cave is the most accessible and most visited of the three main caves in Sam Roi Yod (Three hundred Peaks) National Park.  It has been visited by three of Thailand's kings.

Royal graffiti from 1926

Paraya Nakhon cave does not have a lot of stalactites and stalagmites as compared to some caves, probably due to the fact that the roof has long ago caved in in two places, leaving it open and well lit, for the most part.  But there is an area where there are three pillars, or columns as the covers would call them.

Three Pillars

When I look at the three pillars I am reminded of a couple of important threes.  The main one that comes to mind is how we describe God as a trinity, or one God in three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.  But the other thing I am reminded of is three pillars of our faith.

First, God.  God is the center of our faith and it is all about the worship of Him.  God is central, not us.  God existed before there was anything and will keep on existing through eternity.  That's a long time, especially in light of our relatively minuscule lifespans.

Second, the Word of God, or scripture; the Bible.  It is though the revelation from God that we know more things about God than we can just glean from observing creation--although there is quite a lot that can be ascertained about God from observing the things around us. As Paul writes, "For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen because they are understood through what has been made." (Romans 1:20, NIV)

But God to chose to reveal Himself to us through the prophets and through Jesus and so we have recorded many things about God.  As the writer of Hebrews puts it, "After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, in these last days he has spoken to us in a son..." (Hebrews 1:1, 2a, NIV). While we cannot know everything about God (for we are not God), we can know some things about Him.  If there is revelation, we can know some truth.  (If there is not revelation, Christianity is a farce.)

Third, the Church, the Body of Christ.  While Jesus ascended to heaven, He left behind the church as the visible representation of Christ in the world.  As Paul writes, "Now you are Christ's body, and each of you is a member of it." (1 Corinthians 12:27, NIV) I won't go into detail about this other than to say how amazing it is that God chooses to use differently gifted, ordinary people to do His work in the world.  We don't always get it right, but when the church functions as one body with Jesus as the head, amazing things can happen.

God is there.  God revealed Himself though the scriptures and through His Son, Jesus.  God continues to be present in the world today as the church.  Three pillars of the faith, of which I am reminded by the three pillars in Phraya Nakhon cave.