DAILY DEVOTION, March 14, 2022

Jesus described the Christian life as beginning with a new birth. One must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God. The Greek word Jesus used in John 3:3 is a little ambiguous. To be born “again” (Greek, anothen) also means “ to be born from above.”  Jesus is likely thinking of being born from above by the power of the Holy Spirit, but the word “again” also applies. We are born again and from above is the basic idea. When Jesus described conversion as a new birth, his meaning is plain. When we are born the first time, a radical change takes place. We leave the comfort and warmth of the womb where we are sustained entirely by the mother and enter into a world where we have to breathe on our own, where there is pain and discomfort, where there is love and hate. The first birth brings about radical changes. Life in the womb is completely different than life in the world. Jesus suggests a sweeping shift occurs when we are born again from above. We have to ask ourselves, where is the evidence in our behavior that we have truly been born again? Can we live a self-centered life where the primary focus is me, me, and then claim to be true Christians? I leave it for you to answer that question for yourself even as I must answer it for myself.  

Father, I don’t want to play at being a Christian. I want the real thing. If I am not convinced that I have been born again, please bring that change into my life.        I do believe in Jesus, and I want to honor Him daily. Amen.