In his
conversation with Jesus about being born again, reborn by the water and the
Spirit, Nicodemus recognized that a person cannot enter the womb a second
time. What he failed to see is that we
are not supposed to enter the womb a second time. When we are born again we are not to return
to the safety of our previous life. We
are to move forward, advance into a new life.
As we
receive the Holy Spirit we are born anew, born into a new life and a new way of
having faith. This is not simply an
exciting and emotionally charged moment that is meant to fade. It is a beginning.
The
writer of Hebrews speaks about what we are to do as believers when we are born
anew with the Spirit. What are all the
things we should do? What happens when
we fail to do that?
Many of
us I am certain have felt that mountaintop experience when we are filled with
the joy and love of God. We may have been
in a moving church service, or we may have been part of a rewarding mission
project. We may have simply seen the
awesome presence of God in a sunset. The
moment is exciting, thrilling, breath-taking.
But so often we “come down” from this emotional high and life returns to
that normal, mundane pace.
An
encounter with the Holy Spirit is more than just a momentary high. It is a chance to become a different person
and start living out our faith in new ways.
If we will accept the presence of the Spirit, make it part of who we are
and be changed by it, then we will live out our faith.
If we
claim to believe in God and yet we ignore the moving of the Holy Spirit, refuse
to allow it to make us new, then we have little hope. Instead of embracing the fire of passion for
God we will be consumed by the fires of regret and a failed faith.
Living
with a new faith perspective requires that we pay attention to how we can help
and encourage others, how we can share God’s love. It means abandoning the old way of living, of
working to avoid sinning. It also
involves being intentional in our faith life, attending worship and other
gatherings of Christian brothers and sisters so that we might be part of the
body of Christ.
DAILY CHALLENGE: How will you commit to meeting together with other Christians? How will you spur others on to good deeds?
