 |
Born Again
Read:
John 3:1-12
"Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again" (John 3:7 NKJV).
In His famous encounter with Nicodemus, Jesus emphasized the necessity of a spiritual rebirth as the only way of entry into the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus didn't quite get it then as many people don't get it today. "Born again" has become a somewhat maligned, derisive term. In some circles (even within the Church) you may be regarded as at least a border line nut case if you even talk about it.
In part, I understand this antipathy. Some people who seem obsessed with their born again status can sometimes be very unpleasant people to be around. They come off as "holier than thou" super saints who seem to, in Frederick Buechner's words, “give the impression they carry the Lord around in their hip pocket.”
But let's not be so quick to discard this truth which defines who and what a Christian believer is. Jesus told Nicodemus that unless one experiences a new birth by water and the Spirit, one cannot see the Kingdom of God. While we have often heard "seeing is believing," the life of faith in Jesus Christ begins when we learn that "believing is seeing." This faith furnishes the spiritual lens that allows us to see the Kingdom in its present form and its final consummation.
Popular religion is often a do-it-yourself matter involving rites and rituals, creeds and mantras. The New Testament doesn't prescribe a ritual or reformation but rather a transformation. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (II Corinthains 5:17).
On April 22, 1855, 17-year-old Dwight Moody was working in a shoe store in Boston. His Sunday School teacher, a man named Edward Kimball, felt compelled to go talk to Dwight on that day about a matter which he felt was of great importance. He walked into the shoe store and said to Dwight, "I have come here to ask you to come to Christ, who loves you and wants you to have His love, and you should have it." Young Moody was so surprised by his teacher's impassioned plea and his own deeply felt need that he opened his heart to the Lord.
Moody's testimony to his experience that day is the most convincing evidence that the new birth is real. He said, "It seemed to me that I was in love with all creation. I had not a bitter feeling against any man, and I was ready to take all men to my heart."
Prayer: Father, I thank you that Jesus gives a new and wonderful life. May that life shine forth in me today especially in my love for others. In His name, Amen.
 |
Richard Bowermaster
Retired AB pastor living in Ft. Morgan, CO
Serving as Pastor to Pastor
in southeastern Colorado (previous Area III)
Contact him at pastopas@msn.com |
Read past thoughts
|
