“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.'” John 3:5
I am a good father and have THE 4 most wonderfully, amazing kids ever born. But I’m not braggin’! I can SAY the first thing because of the second, and the second thing because of the first. Time is the factor that allows me to conclusively make that statement in the first place. My kids aren’t kids anymore and range in age from 34 – 40, which is old enough to know AND prove that they really are…wonderfully amazing!
I was there for every birth. Since Katie had willfully determined to go ALL IN with the, at the time, new, Lamaze method of natural childbirth thing, I was in the room when my kids came in to the world. And while I’d heard of Dad’s ‘cutting the cord’ of their children to welcome them into the world, I neither asked for, nor was given, the opportunity to actually do so. Could THAT be the secret to wonderful kids??
I don’t feel cheated because I didn’t cut my kid’s umbilical cords. After all, it’s just a symbolic ritual anyway. I deliberately went looking for today’s verse because I HAVE been given the opportunity, commission and duty to birth new babies into this, and another world! And it happened again yesterday. Not symbolic…but LITERALLY!
A week ago I had the privilege to witness and lead a man to New Birth in Christ. Once done, we were BOTH joyfully excited. YESTERDAY God completed the team when Katie and I were honored to witness the rebirth of his Wife, while the whole family sat around a table for lunch! All of us were blessed to watch God move and work, through His Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit…as old ties of THIS life of sin and death were cut to make way for the NEW!
I am ALWAYS blown away by the act of someone being Born Again in Christ. From understanding that they are sinners deserving of the Lake of Fire, to the asking and receiving a NEW Life because of Christ’s death and resurrection, some births may seem more emotionally exciting than others. But no matter HOW one FEELS at New Birth, the birthing process is ALWAYS MESSY! In a labor room, 1 goes in and 2 come out. In the ‘New Birth’ process, the patient literally DIES.. and a NEW person is born! And Funerals are not pleasant!
I do not miss having babies because I am just that kind of person. To me, no amount of cooing can overcome the crying, pooping, puking and fidgeting of a new baby. But that didn’t mean I didn’t do my part as a father. In New Birth of Salvation, SOME inclinations are overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit. But there are lots of learning steps to growing up in Christ. And each step, with the help of Jesus People, moves HIS baby toward AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL!
How Amazing are YOU?
