Certainly most of us at some point in our lives have looked in to a mirror, or just inwardly at least, and have wondered how differently things might have gone in life if we only had a ‘do over’.

Maybe it was decades in to your marriage when you begin to ponder such things, given that spark had flickered out long ago. Perhaps it was the career path you chose against your better judgement and after years of ‘punching that clock’ you find yourself questing your purpose in life and where did you go wrong. For others, it might have been more simple and short term, wishing for a do-over after you bombed that exam and knew you should have spent the night before studying instead of partying.

Having spent a few years ministering in jails and prisons, I can assure you there are thousands upon thousands of incarcerated inmates who are rotting away behind prison bars who no doubt can only dream of what it would be like to have a ‘do-over’ in this life. Many of those individuals were born in to circumstances where they seemingly never had a chance to end up anywhere else but where they did.

I’ve always heard that phrase...and have even expressed it myself on occasion...that in this life we just don’t get ‘do-overs’...so we better make the most of this one chance we have while passing through.

And yet...Jesus might take exception to that ‘matter of fact statement’ we all have grown to believe over the years. Can we really have a ‘do-over’ where we get a fresh new start?

According to Jesus, that answer would be a resounding ‘Yes!’ In fact, to hear Him explain it, none of us stand a chance of ever experiencing His eternal kingdom unless we are....’born again’. That was the first condition He made known that any of us would need to experience if we had any hope of seeing, much less entering into the kingdom of God. (John 3:3-5)

If you read my post yesterday, we were looking at that conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus, the religious leader who came to Jesus and admitted he and others ‘knew He was a teacher sent by God’. (John 3:2). When this renowned Pharisee was told he could not even see the kingdom of God unless he was ‘born again’, it posed quite a paradox for him given he likely assumed he was quite versed on all those things pertaining to God’s kingdom. He was a learned teacher, of all things. Yet his question in response seemed to reveal some cracks in his theology as he immediately began thinking in ‘natural terms’, even asking if a grown man could enter his mother’s womb a second time in order to be ‘born again’. (4)

For one to be re-born would infer one could indeed have a fresh start, or a ‘do-over’. I would think that might be even the slightest hint of hope for anyone who may have reached the end of their rope and see nothing but darkness, despair, and defeat ahead of them.

So what on earth could it possibly mean to experience this re-birth, or be ‘born again’?

After Nicodemus asked that seemingly odd question about somehow re-entering his mother’s womb, Jesus doubled down in His response, but this time expressing it this way: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

Admit it...that really does not clear up matters one bit. If anything...it sounds even more confusing. But I can at least explain why that is.

Jesus said in one place: “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63). We would later learn from another converted Pharisee that “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:14)

Not everyone will ‘get this’, but like it or not, most of what Jesus taught, He used natural examples and illustrations (parables) that contained hidden, spiritual truths. And He only reveals these truths to those who come to Him with all their hearts. In fact, He even hints that the Father actually ‘hides these mysteries from the wise and the prudent and reveals them only to babes’. (Luke 10:21). You may not like the way God orchestrated all this, but it is His kingdom so He can pretty much do as He pleases. Take a quick look at Mark 4:10-12 for further proof if you need it.

Allow me to take a moment here to touch on something that has been on my mind to address for some time. It would explain why the field of science and medicine, as good and helpful as it has proven to be over the years for so many of us, is lacking. I say that only because it falls short in addressing matters  which would be considered to be ‘spiritual’ in nature. Science cannot explain or define ‘God’, or even things that pertain to God. The reason being: “God is Spirit” (John 4:24).

And God created us in His likeness and image which means we were originally created to be spiritual beings. (Gen. 1:26-27). What made us rather unique, in the beginning at least, was that we also possessed a ‘soul’ and had physical bodies. We were to be ‘triune’ in nature, as in: spirit, soul, and body. So when God warned Adam to not eat off that one tree or he would ‘surely die’ (Gen. 2:17) God was telling him that he would die ‘spiritually’ because apart from God, we have no real life. And sin...separates us from God. (Isa. 59:2). Now doesn’t it make more sense when Jesus tried reminding another group of Pharisees that even though they studied the scriptures, thinking they would ‘find life’, they were unwilling to ‘come to Him that they might have life’. (John 5:40). Apart from God...we remain dead in our sins. (Eph. 2:1)

Yet, Adam and Eve and everyone else who followed all the way down the line to you and I today...seem to be ‘living’, do we not? We have physical bodies (that were designed to house our spirit) and we also have ‘souls’, which most agree pertain to our mind-emotions-will-intellect. But if our spirits were dead because of sin, you have to admit, we are about as stable as a three-legged stool that is missing one leg.

But when one is ‘born again’, one begins to experience a new life, one which is spiritual in nature, and opens our understanding to the ‘things of the spirit world’ that we live in. When Paul was addressing believers in Thessalonica in his first letter to them, he closed out his letter with a prayer of sorts expressing a hope that “the God of all peace Himself would sanctify them completely, and that their whole spirit, soul, and body would be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Thess. 5:23). Did you catch that – ‘spirit, soul, and body’?

Now if we have failed to truly experience this new birth that Jesus spoke of, then we can’t even see or understand the things of the kingdom of God as they remain hidden from us. That might also explain why we get a little uneasy when we start talking about ‘spirits’ and ‘demons’ and ‘deliverance from unclean spirits’ etc. Back when Jesus was walking the dusty roads of Galilee and surrounding areas, people at least understood where the source of much of their pain and suffering were tied to. That’s why they were coming to Him asking to be set free from evil spirits. And He was more than willing to do that. Can you quote Acts 10:38 yet? ;-)

Now days, we are a bit more ‘educated and enlightened’, or so we like to think. And neither science or medical experts want to give much credibility to such foolish talk of unclean spirits; so we have tons of nice ‘labels’ we assign to people with mental illness and emotional disorders. And Lord knows...how many billions of dollars pharmaceutical companies have made selling chemicals that don’t really ‘cure’ folks with these ailments...they just help them live and cope with them. Oh, if you ever want to dive off in to a Greek word study, look up ‘sorcery’ in a Strong’s concordance. It comes from the same root word that we get ‘pharmacy ‘ from. But I digress, once again.

So back to the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus telling him that unless (any of us) were born again, we would never see the kingdom of God. Have you ever made a cross-country road trip and totally missed seeing some famous landmark because it was dark, or you were sleeping...or buried in your phone of all things? You passed right by and never saw any sign of it, or even a ‘sign’ saying: Next Exit.

Yeah...that’s pretty much what Jesus is saying will happen to most people, if you can believe that. (Matt. 7:13-14). They will sail right through this life and never, ever, see...nor enter God’s kingdom. In fact, there will be many who were kinda thinking they would...and be greeted with that other familiar but chilling passage we read in Matt. 7:21-23. They too, were obviously never ... ’born again’. You might want to chew on that harsh truth for a moment. They ‘thought’ they were, but were not.

So maybe it would be good for us to revisit this topic of what it means to be...’born again’? And maybe we should also do a little personal inventory to insure we have been ourselves, taking into consideration what Paul advised. (2 Cor. 13:5)

Let’s begin with something we can all relate to- a natural birth. And where or how does every single natural birth begin? It starts...with a seed. 

"A sower...went out to sow his seed..." (Luke 8:5,11).  Join me tomorrow?