BE BORN, AGAIN?

Judea:  Born again? This phrase was made famous by Jesus through Nicodemus, a well-known figure from a political party called the Pharisees. He confronted Jesus late one night when he was afraid to let others see him with Jesus, because the other Pharisees hated Jesus. Deep inside him, he knew that Jesus was not just a man. “Is He God?” he often asked himself for he saw all the miracles He did. That day, the meeting with Jesus Himself changed him forever.

He was taken aback when Jesus uttered this statement, “I tell you the truth, no one can see kingdom of God unless he is born again.” The last two words, especially, created a great curiosity in him. He had never heard of such a phrase before in his entire life. Impossible! He knew in his own life he had done many bad things and if he could go back to his mother’s womb and be born again, that would be great. Probably, he would try to be a better person.

Jesus then began to teach him what “born again” really meant. It was indeed impossible for Nicodemus to be born again through the human help of his mother.

There was a greater meaning in those two words awaiting him. It was more powerful than he could ever imagine.

God, the Creator was waiting to recreate him and make him into a new person. He could now become a new creation or be “born again”.

“Born again” here meant being born of God and that was far better than being born by human descent. In other words, he could be saved from going to hell and instead, would be on the way to Heaven where he can live forever and ever with God.

Jesus led Nicodemus to focus on the heavenly things when He said that he must be born again. That’s why Jesus told him that He Himself came from Heaven and He could be trusted.

Then Jesus uttered the greatest statement and the most beautiful one for the entire world to hear.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

From then on, Nicodemus knew that God offered hope to every man who needed to come near to God. The hope of eternal life. That hope was in Jesus.

Tears began to well up in his eyes as he knew that God had finally revealed the truth to him and was giving him the chance to be born again. He understood it all. He had to believe in the Son of God, who was just standing right in front of him.

That night, Nicodemus thanked God over and over again that he was able to meet Jesus. “What if I hadn’t met him?” or “What if I had been so afraid of my friends that I missed the greatest appointment of my life?” He didn’t dare to imagine the consequences. He went back home reiterating the same words, “I need to be born again”

He was also committed to tell others too. “You need to be born again,” he told others confidently. – PS BIBLE News

REFLECTION

Everyone needs to be born again! The good news is everyone can be born again. This story was found in John chapter 3. God said in His Word that whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life. The word ‘whoever’ includes you and me. God is always waiting for us to call upon Him because He loves us very much. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13) Have you called upon Jesus to save you? If not, why don’t you do it today?