February 2

The Mystery Of Regeneration

Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?” — John 3:3-4 BSB

"Marvel not!" said Jesus to Nicodemus—yet, despite His words, it is hard not to marvel at the wonder and mystery of the New Birth.

Birth, as with the little chick, is a kind of emergence. It is the breaking free of a tiny creature from darkness and confinement into the vastness of the world, with its blue sky, green fields, and abundant life. So too, the mineral is born into the vegetable, the vegetable into the animal, the animal into the human, and the human into the divine. But in each case, the process remains the same: we are born from above (see the marginal notes in John 3:3-7). The higher realm stoops down to unite us with itself.

This new birth from above is the heavenly side of faith. Just as a hand has two sides—the palm and the back—the act of being incorporated into eternal life also has two sides. The angels call it being born into the life of God; we describe it as trusting Jesus Christ for salvation. If we are believing—trusting in Him—we are born from above. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life." To those who receive Him, Jesus gives the right to become sons and daughters of God. "Now we are the children of God."

This is the mystery of the New Birth. "Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book were written all the days that were formed for me, even before one of them came to be." Such knowledge is too wonderful for us, too high to understand. We don't yet know what we will become, but we do know that when the Firstborn from the dead appears, we will be like Him!

It is a marvel that we awaken to find ourselves tied to this world through birth and nature. What are we? Where did we come from? What is the meaning of this life, filled with both pain and joy? We cannot say. But it is even more marvelous to realize that through Jesus Christ, we belong to the eternal world. He is the ladder connecting heaven and earth, and where He is, we will be also.

Prayer

We thank You, O Savior, for teaching us to know and love You, but we thank You most of all for adopting us into Your family, making us sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty. May we walk as children of light and fulfill the ministries of heaven. Amen.