A new life has begun
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
I’m sure you can think of many moments in life when, suddenly, everything changed. Your first day at school, your wedding, the birth of your children, when you started your first job or moved into a new house. From that moment, everything looked slightly different. But those moments are nothing compared to the complete change that happens when we become a Christian. No part of life is left untouched.
Jesus told Nicodemus, one of the Jewish leaders, that he had to be born again (see John 3). I don’t think that Nicodemus was playing games with Jesus when he showed incredulity at what Jesus said. His words sounded like nonsense to Nicodemus. How could he possibly go through the process of birth all over again? But Jesus was clear: no doubt Nicodemus was a good and godly man, but he needed to start out on a completely new spiritual journey. His physical birth obviously couldn’t be repeated but, if he wanted a spiritual life, he would have to experience a spiritual birth.
We all have different stories to tell of the way in which we started out on the Christian life. Some of you can probably remember the exact time and place when you became a Christian. Others, like me, may have been brought up in a Christian home and cannot recall a time when Jesus was not part of your life. My journey towards personal faith in Christ was gradual; through the love of my parents, youth leaders and others I was led to a clear, personal commitment. The road we take isn’t the issue. What matters is that we find new life in Jesus and recognise that knowing him transforms every part of us. We are new people!
QUESTION
What was your own experience of being born again?
PRAYER
Thank you, gracious God, for loving me so much that you were willing to give me new life in Jesus. Amen