Among the most profound teaching of Jesus occurs in John 3:1-8:
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
The Greek preposition which is used here for “from above” is “anothen.” The preposition “ano” means “above,” and the suffix “then” signifies “from.” Yet anothen also means “again.” Either way, what Jesus is saying is that you have to experience God; the unseen Holy Spirit must touch or enter you in some unforgettable way in order to enter the kingdom of God.
Perhaps the best analogy for being born from above or again is that of falling in love. Falling in love is a life-changing experience, built on the addition of the “other” and what that relationship brings to your life. All that you are falls in love with all that your partner is. Like the John Legend song says, “All of me, loves all of you.” The difference between reading a romance novel and actually meeting and falling in love is analogous to the difference between being “once born” and “born from above.” Yet how can you fall in love with someone you have never met? And how can the once born understand the twice born?
When I have conducted premarriage counseling with couples who had been divorced from a previous marriage, I would tell them that they get to start over again, rather like getting another “at bat” in baseball. And I would remind them that we learn more from our mistakes than our triumphs. And that with God, you can always get another “at bat,” regardless of the inning.
Now when you finally fall in love with God, it will be forever. And you will realize that being “born again” or “born from above” means to have entered into this love relationship with God, which actually takes place in God, through the Holy Spirit who is Love. I am most thankful to say I am in love with the God who loves me. In grateful response, I have written to God:
“I loved You before I knew You. When You dawned upon me, the rays of You reached at first light all that I am, all that I have been, all that I shall be.
And I knew then there was never a time I did not love You, nor could there ever be a time I would not love You.
I love You because You loved me first. My love arose in response to Your love, arose uncreated, unbidden, unmatched, arose as a flower-strewn path to You fixed before the foundations of the world.
I loved You from the first moment of Your glimmering grace. I loved You from the first with a love that lifted me, carried me to You, a love that knew not only You but the way to You, a love that found not only You but me in finding You.
In my love for You, hidden in me, hidden from me from the beginning, was also hidden the stilled shrine of the knowledge of You. When You dawned, You summoned forth my love and knowledge as twin gifts for me and for us, forever.”
For this prayer, breathe in God’s love, and breathe out your love for God in response.
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