It is quite something to go through.
In the darkness and then there’s a light. Called towards it and drawn to emerge from night to day. And it’s all new. And it’s so new and exciting that something inside you wells up and explodes from the mouth. A cry and an expression of such delight and joy. An overwhelming desire to blurt out to others just how good this newness is. Not just a desire to share it in word, but a recognition of the new in things like appetite, desires and preferences.
Someone said that the old has passed away and in the new day in which you find yourself, you can see more than ever before what that old is. Self-reliance, insecurity, lust, addiction and a tendency to hide rather than be totally truthful. It looks so different in the light of the new. Before these appeared to be the acceptable norms of the human condition that people took for granted. Now there’s an expression of new humanity seen in Jesus Christ that is truthful, loving, desirous to honour others, willing to serve, eager to build others and having a capacity to forgive as you recognise the degree of forgiveness you’ve received.
There was hearing the good news. There was that recognition of the news that it applied to you. That it wasn’t just good news swipe through and ignore. This was good news to take to heart. This was good news to respond to. There was that expression of faith and that acknowledgement that a change of mind and a change of direction in life was crucial. From self-centred, to Christ-centred. That change also seen in rejecting the old ways to embrace the new. That great feeling of belonging to the family of God with the loving Heavenly Father and glorious Son on hand to support through the gracious Holy Spirit. Not just a momentary experience, not just something for the thrills, but an ever deeper attraction to Christ and being conformed to His character.
A new way of seeing the world, a new way of engaging in relationships, a new way of being.
It’s quite something to go through.
Questions to Consider:
What does it mean to be born again?
What about the new birth is worth highlighting to those who do not know about it?
What is the biggest challenge faced in the new birth process?
How can these lessons shape your approach to prayer?
(Photo by Daniel McCullough on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 