|
|
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion February 16, 2008 Born of the Spirit |
A daily |
Frontline Devotion for Saturday, February 16, 2008 by Don Kress
Text for the Day: John 3:3-5 – Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, unless one is born again, he cannot be in God’s kingdom.” Nicodemus said, “But if a person is already old, how can he be born again? He cannot enter his mother’s body again. So how can a person be born a second time?” But Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, unless one is born from water and the Spirit, he cannot enter God’s kingdom.” (New Century Version)
There are as many different opinions about what Jesus meant by his use of the phrase “unless one is born of water and the Spirit” as there are Bible commentators. For me, I’m inclined to believe that “being born of water” refers to one of two life events: either one’s physical birth (a child in the womb is in water) or one’s experiencing the Sacrament of Baptism. Like the commentators, I’m not sure which. I’ll add it to the list of questions that I want to ask Jesus when I get to heaven; but for now, I’ll accept the mystery. I believe that “being born of the Spirit” refers to one’s being filled with the Holy Spirit.
In today’s text, Nicodemus falls prey to something that affects a lot of us: concentrating on the ‘how’ rather than on the ‘what.’ Nicodemus was a very learned man, schooled in the Old Testament. But Nicodemus was puzzled by Jesus’ declaration about being born again and asked, “How can this be?” Christian psychologist Dr. Larry Crabb says, “Asking ‘how’ is usually (though not always) a foolish question when it comes to things of God.” Solomon had a similar point of view: “As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things” (Eccl. 11:5). Paul wrote: “But someone may ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?’ How foolish!” (1 Cor. 15:35).
Scientific advances have taught us much about how a baby develops in the womb, and even many things about the path of the wind; but certain aspects of these things still remain great mysteries. We don’t know exactly how everything happens, but we know that childbirth and wind are real. We accept the mystery.
I believe that, as followers of Christ, we are called to accept the mystery and concentrate on the ‘what.’ In today’s text, the ‘what’ is being born of the Spirit. A lot of us Christians shy away from talking about the Holy Spirit. We fear being labeled ‘charismatic.’ Therefore, it’s best to avoid any mention of this Third Person of the Trinity. We tend to think that because we have been filled with the Holy Spirit at some point in our past, that is enough.
I don’t think that this one time encounter is to what Jesus was referring when he said we need to be born of the Spirit. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit is our chief resource for staying spiritually fresh. To maintain our spiritual vitality, you and I need to daily open our beings to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We need a constant replenishing of the Spirit’s resources. As Billy Graham once said when someone asked why he said that he prayed to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit: “I leak!” It’s only through a continuous encounter with the Holy Spirit that we can be born of and borne by the Spirit!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am surrounded by your divine mysteries. Help me to accept – and enjoy – them. Fill me with your Spirit. Help me to experience a daily topping-off of all of the resources that being born of the Spirit afford. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
|
All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
Visit the |
|||||||||||
