REBORN!
I have baptized many in my life. When I baptized our son, at thirteen, I was told by the man directing baptism to make sure I got all of him under the water. He then proceeded to tell me that if I didn’t, he wouldn’t be saved! YOUR JOKING! At thirteen I was baptized myself. I had been taught, to inherit the kingdom, you had to be plunged under the water. To be “born again”. When Jesus told Nicodemus one has to be “born again” Nicodemus looked upon Jesus with puzzlement. Thru contemplation and study, I have come to realize that there is more. What Jesus was telling Nicodemus was go back to the beginning. Relearn all your ways of thinking. Throw out your traditions, rethink your laws, relook at your attitudes, examine your position in life. Before Christ, the law was the authority. Now Jesus is saying I am the way, the truth, and the life. I don’t follow the law, I go further. I don’t look to ways of living, to earn a place in heaven. I depend on the spirit that is within me. What Jesus was telling us, when he spoke to Nicodemus was… Your way of thinking, the way you were taught since birth, has to be reborn. The act of baptism is simply a symbol. The true change lies in the heart, not in the water. To be reborn means to learn to love unconditionally… without judgement. Just like a baby loves without hesitation, we must be born again to love the same. John Chap. 3
I Love You!
Perry