Augustine at the Beach

There is a story told about Augustine, the great theologian. He was walking along a beach, thinking about the Trinity – how the Father is God and Jesus is God and the Spirit is God and although each of them is distinct from the others, God is one unified being. As Augustine walked and thought, he came upon a boy who was playing at the water’s edge. The boy had dug a big hole in the sand. It was deep and wide. The boy had a bucket. He was taking water from the sea and pouring it into his hole. Augustine watched the boy for a while. The child was very persistent and was working very hard to fill his hole. Augustine asked the boy what he was doing. The child turned and said, “I am going to empty the sea into my hole.”

Augustine smiled at the boy, wished him well, and continued down the beach. He knew the boy would never be able to empty the sea into the hole. The boy knew about the sea. He knew about salt water and tides and waves. He could see it, smell it, taste it, hear it, and touch it. But the little boy had no idea about how big the sea is. Augustine thought to himself, “So, the boy thinks he is going to empty the sea into his hole. Sometimes we are like that. We propose to encompass the infinitude of God in the small limits of our mind.”

There are some things that are simply too big for us to understand.

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