And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 1 John 2-28 (NIV)
PART 1 – Born Again
John LOVES using “dear children” as a greeting to those he wrote to, and he’s not being condescending. In the Greek, it translates to “my born ones” and was a way of describing being “born again” as Jesus spoke of to Nicodemus in John 3.
Rebirth.
What an incredible concept…
When Jesus was speaking to the Pharisee, Nicodemus, about being re-born, Nicodemus could scarcely comprehend the idea… And it was such a controversial, revolutionary concept that the two met in the dark of night to discuss it. He said, “How can anyone born who has already been born and grown up? You can’t re-enter your mother’s womb and be born again. What are you saying with this ‘born-from-above’ talk?”
Jesus said, “You’re not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation — the ‘wind-hovering-over-the-water’ creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. When you look at a baby, it’s just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can’t see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.”
We start off as babies, we grow, we learn, we mature… but there is another realm where we need to be “born again” – start over, clean slate, grow, learn, mature, age, live through…
It’s about origins. Where did you originate? Personally, one-half of my family comes from Scotland, the other half come from England… I have a heritage and an environment that I was born into and grew up in that has shaped my worldview. Then, my life experiences have impacted this world view, and my faith, hopes and dreams I have (or lack there-of) direct its twists and turns.
But spiritually, I find my origins in God. He is my country, my inheritance and future on a deep and unseen level. Before I had any physical form, I existed in his heart. The essence of who I would become was birthed deep inside His imagination and became manifest the day I was conceived. However, this physical world and all that pertains to it sometimes causes us to forget where we came from. The heart of God the Father.
And so we live out our days looking for meaning, searching for truth, but never really finding it until we become aware of who we really are. Our true origin. And at that moment, a reset takes place. Our value shifts, our hope brightens… meaning has a different and eternal definition. We realise that there is nothing, absolutely zero that we can do to receive God's love, except to allow our heart and spirit to be reborn into faith. Awake, aware, new. Rebuilding the rest of our lives from this point of renewed (remembered) heritage.
Then we become the “the little children” John was talking about…
‘the born ones.’
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