We Seek Him 2

John 3:1-3

When our children first expressed an interest in being involved in sports at our local school we wondered what was required to get on the team. The schools where my wife and I attended when we were younger required try-outs, demonstrations of skill and ability, to be chosen for the team. When we asked about our local school someone from church told us the way to get on the team. “Just show up,” he said.

The requirements were not as extreme as we anticipated. Likewise, having a relationship with Jesus is not something you can buy nor does it require a special code. In John 3 we have an encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus. Nicodemus was seeking a relationship with Christ and what was required was not exactly what he was expecting.

Who was Nicodemus? What would you assume about Nicodemus and his faith based on that information? What does Nicodemus know about Jesus? What requirement for seeing the kingdom of God does Jesus give?

As a high-ranking member of the Jewish faith we might assume that Nicodemus would know how to have a relationship with God. But when Jesus tells him what is required Nicodemus is taken off guard. If you continue with the story of this encounter (John 3:1-12) you will see that Nicodemus was perplexed by what was required.

If we seek a relationship with Jesus there is little that is required of us. We need to be merciful and acknowledge God as Lord of all (see Hosea 6:6). But if we will be in a relationship with Jesus things will need to change. We will need to be different than what we are now.

To see the kingdom of God, that is to be part of this incredible experience of being a child of God and companion to Christ, we must be born again. We must have our spirit changed.

We need to let go of our former, earthly and selfish attitudes and take on a heavenly attitude. We must allow the Holy Spirit to give us a new spirit within, a new attitude and desire to live a good and holy life of compassion, love and care.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Are you willing to be born again?

New 5

John 3:1-5

There is a clever challenge we have used before in church to show how God can make the impossible happen. We challenge people to cut an opening into an 8x11 piece of paper, leaving the paper in one piece. The hole must be big enough to allow your whole body to pass through without tearing the paper.

At first it seems like it can’t be done, but if you fold the paper down the middle and then make about a dozen cuts from the fold toward the edges and back again the paper can open up like a string of paper dolls – remaining in one piece – but with a hole large enough for an adult to pass through.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, was presented with what appeared to be an impossible task. What did Jesus tell him about seeing the kingdom of God? What was Nicodemus’ interpretation? What did Jesus say?

Like so many, Nicodemus was trying to comprehend the ways of faith by looking at things from a human perspective. But Jesus clarified the situation by explaining that Jesus was talking about spiritual things.

To be part of the kingdom of God, to be immersed in our faith and a vibrant believer in Christ we must be born again. But this rebirth is not a physical matter. It is a spiritual matter. We are called on to be reborn in our spirits, to take on a new faith life, to give our spiritual attitudes a revival.

This lesson from Jesus was not for a new convert, someone unfamiliar with faith, but to a man who was a leader in spiritual matters. Like Nicodemus we are also called to have a new spirit put in us. We are called to ask God for a new heart, a revived and steadfast spirit, so that our faith life – our beliefs and our actions – might gain a new energy.

By being reborn by the Spirit, even when we are quite familiar with God and faith, we can have a new heart and new attitude toward our holy living.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you allow yourself to be reborn?