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| MADE OVER AGAIN |
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“You must be born again.” John 3:7
Have you ever wondered about the concept of being “born again?” I’m sure that every Christian has because the bible teaches us that “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) This is a truth as deep as life itself. Nicodemus was totally confused when Jesus made this statement. “How can a man be born when he is old?” he asked. To him, as to many, certain things were impossible. As if human nature were like cement—once set it can never be changed. He did not understand that Jesus was speaking of the birth of the Spirit, and that human nature can be changed in its spirit and goal. We don’t have to try to dodge human nature or get rid of it, but, by altering its attitude of mind and heart we can be spiritually made over again. God acts supernaturally to make us His children. The spiritual life He infuses (introduce into our minds) leads to moral transformation and enables us to love God and others. Natural birth begins our life on this earth, but spiritual birth brings us into the spiritual world and makes us God’s ”born ones.” Therefore, Jesus was not thinking in terms of the initial human birth (woman giving birth to a child), but in terms of the total life change that results from this birth “being born again.” This rebirth comes after saving faith. In fact we can never know that we have been reborn until we come to faith in Christ, because that is the outward evidence of this hidden, inward work of God. Once we do come to saving faith in Christ, we know that we have been born again. As we strive for perfection, (Jesus said “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”Matthew 5:48) Our soul is reborn (made over) again and again; touched and awakened by invisible influences. Peter said, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us into his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. – 1Peter 5:10. Our human life, if viewed correctly, is a series of rebirths. Each of the seven stages of life is a rebirth, a new start on a higher level.
Seven Stages of Life :
Infancy: We are dependent on others and need to be constantly attended to.
Childhood: We begin to go to school. We are reluctant to leave the protected environment of our home as we are still not confident enough to exercise our own discretion.
Adolescence: We are always remorseful due to some reason or other, especially the loss of love. We try to express feelings through song or some other cultural activity.
Young Adult: We think less of ourselves and begin to think more of others. We are very easily aroused and are hotheaded. Always working toward making a reputation for ourselves and gaining recognition, however short-lived it may be, even at the cost of our own lives.
Adult: We have acquired wisdom through the many experiences we have had in life. We’ve reached a stage where we’ve gained prosperity and social status. We’ve become very attentive to our looks and begin to enjoy the finer things of life.
Old Age: We begin to lose our charm –both physical and mental. We begin to become the brunt of others’ jokes. We lose our firmness and assertiveness, and shrinks in stature and personality.
Mental Dementia and Death: Loses our status and become a non-entity. Becomes dependent on others like a child (2nd childhood) and is in need of constant support before finally dying
The road of life is not smooth and easy going. It’s a rough journey in which we leap from one level to the next. We can watch the wonder of it in the growth of a child. Self is the first center of life. A baby is utterly selfish, and must be to survive. His life thereafter, if he is healthy, is getting away from himself, getting out of himself into the lives of others. If he grows, he is born many times. Otherwise he becomes prisoner in himself. Our basic defect— the major source of most evil—is self-centeredness; life in-growing, not outgoing. Our real birthday is when, we get away from the idea that life is getting, not giving. When we open our hands, and, our hearts life really begins.
A Bit of Humor:
How to Trap a Monkey
Take a jar with the neck large enough for the monkey to slip his open hand into it.Now place a banana inside the jar and leave it were the monkey will see it.Now watch the monkey stick his hand in the jar to get the banana out.Once he grabs hold to the banana he cannot get his hand out again.No matter how hard he tries, he cannot get his hand out of the jar because his fist will not fit through the neck of the jar.All he has to do to free himself is open his hand. He must give up the banana to be free. Often this awakening is sudden. Sometimes it comes slowly, by gradual growth. Some of the most intelligent people cannot name a day or date of their rebirth. This does not matter so long as they remember that it’s more blessed to give than to receive. What is needed is for us to switch from self-seeking to giving more of self. In religion it is called “conversion,” a turning about, being born again. Too many of us are pious in some ways and pagan in other ways—sermon saturated pagans. We can be selfish even in religion, forgetting that Jesus said that if a man seeks to save his soul, he loses it. In any case, religion is not a scramble for safety; it is faith, hope, and love. Fear of God may be “the beginning of wisdom,” but to be afraid of God is the death of religion. “Fear not,” was a favorite byword of Jesus. As if he had said, “There is nothing to be afraid of but fear itself. Love God, trust him; religion is love, because God is love. Lift up your hearts!”
John Ruskin (1819 – 1900) the great Victorian thinker, at age thirty-three, began thinking about his past life. It has been a clean life, devoted to art, but he was disgusted with it, because he saw that he had been working for himself in one way or another and decided that this will never do. He faced up to the facts of his life without flinching. He found that he had no joy in his past life, no hope of another life, and he was miserable and bogged down in self-disgust. So he resolved that if he could act as if the bible were true, he would believe in Christ and take him as his Master in whatever he did. Soon, he felt a peace and a spirit in him that he had never known before. Truly, he was born again into a new life. Yet, according to history, years later, there came a black time, when he lost faith in the immortal life. It was a bitter day, dark, lonely, hopeless. But by the mercy of God, the cloud lifted, and there was clear shining. He was born again, and walked therefore under lifting skies until the falling daylight.
Sometimes we need to be taken to pieces and put together again, born again, not once but many times as we strive for perfection. We are wise if we, like Ruskin, calmly face our own souls and makes a decision, as a deliberate choice, not as a last, desperate, fear-driven resort. We must be “born again,” and again, and again, before we are born into the immortal life and see the kingdom of God. |
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| To add a comment to "MADE OVER AGAIN" |
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| March 02, 2008 |
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| Amen! |
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| March 04, 2008 |
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| I would love to be in the front row of one of your sermons you truly have been touched by the hand of the Lord |
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| March 04, 2008 |
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| Amen~ |
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| March 04, 2008 |
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| Great comparisons with human and spiritual growth. I agree with Jerri Lynn, I just bet you are an awesome speaker! |
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| March 29, 2008 |
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I love that expression "sermon saturated pagans." Somehow it embodies the concept very well. We listen, we hear but we are far from being able to apply all those things to our lives for whatever reason (not the least of which is that we happen to be human).
I too would love to sit and listen, if your sermons are anything like your blogs. |
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