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| Being Born Again |
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| Written by Doug Craven | |
| Wednesday, 10 June 2009 | |
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Being Born Again! John 3:1-9 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.” John 3: 5-6NRSV “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is a wonderful book by Eric Carle. The story begins with a tiny egg on a leaf in the light of the moon. One morning, the warm sun came up and out of the egg came a very small and very hungry caterpillar. He began to eat, and eat, and eat, but he was still hungry. Finally, he had eaten so much that he had a stomachache! The next day the caterpillar ate through a nice green leaf, and his stomach felt much better. He built a small house, called, a cocoon, around himself and stayed in there for more than two weeks. Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon and pushed his way out. Guess what? He wasn’t a caterpillar any more, he was now a beautiful butterfly. The story of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” might remind us of a man by the name of Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a very religious man and was a leader of the Pharisees. He spent a lot of time studying the Scriptures, but there was still much that he didn’t understand. Nicodemus came to Jesus late one night, because he was hungry. No, he wasn’t looking for Earthly food, he was hungry for spiritual food. He came to Jesus because he had questions and he believed that Jesus would have the answers. Nicodemus said to Jesus: “Rabbi we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miracles that you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus however responded, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Nicodemus then asked Jesus how someone could be born again, especially after someone was grown and had the experiences of life. Jesus went on to explain to Nicodemus that a person is “born again” when the Spirit of God enters into his heart. Jesus goes on tell Nicodemus that people can produce human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So Jesus then says don’t be surprised when I say, “You must be born again.” “How can this be?” Nicodemus asks while possibly scratching his head. Think about the story of the caterpillar? When the caterpillar comes out of its cocoon, it is not an improved caterpillar. No, rather it is a totally new creation. A butterfly! That’s the way it is when we invite Jesus into our heart to change us. Jesus doesn’t just make us a better person. Jesus transforms us into a new creation! Lord God, we praise you that in Christ Jesus we are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! In Jesus name we pray. Amen. ....Doug Craven |
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