Chapter 23: Born Again
Given the experience of physical birth, being born again does not sound like a good thing. The phrase born again (used by Jesus in John 3 has makes many feel uncomfortable.
- It has become associated with a political agenda.
- It is used to create a hierarchy among Christians.
- The importance of the experience displaces other aspects of faith.
Nicodemus doesn’t get it so Jesus explains it.
- He talks about water and Spirit. Water is the everyday life and Spirit if the extraordinary life.
- Jesus says the Spirit (wind) blows were it chooses. God’s activity in the world is limitless and acts in ways we can’t describe.
- Jesus talks about being lifted up. He was lifted up on the cross and as result he conquered death.
“And these insights should indicate what’s missing from the conventional caricature of being born again. The conventional caricature is simply way too limited. In the first place Jesus is about a whole lot more than creating a political machine to manipulate American elections. In the second place the Spirit has much more than one manner of helping us out of the cave and into dazzling new life. And in the third place God is a great deal less bothered about our having a particular personal experience than about our lives being lifted up like Jesus’s was and about us spending our lives lifting up the lives of others.”
Excerpt From: Samuel Wells. “Be Not Afraid.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/_CksC.l