Daily Scripture Reading: John 3:3-4 KJV
John 3:3-4 KJV
(3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
(4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Today’s Devotional Is THE MYSTERY OF REGENERATION
MARVEL NOT! Jesus said this to Nicodemus – but it is hard not to be amazed at the mystery and wonder of the New Birth.
As in the case with the little chicks, birth is the act of emergence. The emergence of a tiny creature, from darkness and confinement, into the great world with its overarching blue, its mantle green and its abundance of wealth is His. The mineral can be born into the vegetable, into the animal, into the human, and into the divine. The process is identical in all cases. We are created from the above. (See the marginal reading of A.V. R.V. Joh_37:30-7 This means that the kingdom above must come down and bring us into union with it.
This is the heavenward side Faith. The act of incorporating us into Life Eternal is like the outstretched arm with two sides, the palm and back. We describe it as trusting Jesus Christ as our salvation. We are born from the above if we believe–trust in Him. “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life.” Jesus grants the right to all who receive Him the right of becoming the sons and girls of God. “Now, we are the sons and daughters of God.”
This is the mystery surrounding the New Birth. “Thine eyes saw my substance, but being imperfect, and in Thy Book all of my members were written. These continued were fashioned when there was no one else. This knowledge is too amazing for me. It is so high that I can’t even reach it.” We don’t know yet what it will look like, but we do know that He, the First-Born From Among the Dead, will appear and we will be just like Him.
It’s amazing that we are somehow connected by nature and birth to this beautiful world. Who are we? Where did we come from? We don’t know what the real significance is of this discipline that combines pain and weariness with joy and gladness. Is it not even more amazing that we find ourselves part of the Eternal World through Jesus Christ, our Lord? That He is the Ladder connecting this world to His own and that wherever He is, we will also be there.
PRAYER for Today
We are grateful to Thee, O Savior, for teaching us to love Thee and to know Thee. But we also thank Thee for adopting us into Thy family and making us the children and daughters of God Almighty. May we all walk as children of Light and fulfill the missions of Heaven. AMEN.