Being Born Again

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing. But Jesus on His part did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, We speak of what We know, and bear witness to what We have seen, but you do not receive Our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.

John 2:23-3:15

It was the summer of 2008. I was nine years old attending Camp Siloam with my church in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. During each evening at camp, there was a time of worship where all of the groups would gather together. Towards the end of every worship time, they had a time of response for us. I had no idea what I was supposed to be responding to if I’m being honest. I remember vividly the putt-putt course, the cafeteria that gave us pizza for lunch AND dinner, and the sheer number of people there doing all the same things as us, and I was both excited and nervous for the week. These were probably the things going through my head until I watched my friend, Nick, step out from the pew and go down to the front and give his life to Jesus. All of our church leaders on the trip made this a great time of celebration, and I didn’t really know why.

The whole next day, I couldn’t help but think of that moment and that we would be having another worship time in just a few hours. I couldn’t even put into words what I was feeling, but I knew that this was really getting at me. “Why did he do that? Do I need to do the same thing? I know Jesus. Am I not already a Christian?” These were a few of the questions that were rushing through my mind as the evening came. We worshiped, heard a message preached, and then… the time to respond. I stepped out from the pew, went down to the front where my friend’s dad was waiting for anyone from our group to come forward, and I told him that I wanted to give my life to Jesus.

For years, I thought that this was a “boring” or “mundane” conversion experience. It wasn’t until one Sunday, several years later when I was in high school, that our pastor told us his conversion story. It was the exact same as mine, however, he recounted it with such joy and thankfulness. It was far from boring. I began to realize how much I had been downplaying God’s grace to me on that hot summer day in Arkansas as Pastor Lee told us his story.

What is true from that day is this: God, in His great grace, called me to Himself. I cannot give an analytical explanation of that moment other than the fact that the Holy Spirit moved within me to hear God’s voice and open the door for Him to come into me and dine with me (Revelation 3:20). As John Murray puts it in Redemption Accomplished and Applied, “We do not have spiritual perception of the kingdom of God nor do we enter into it because we are willed to or decided to. If this privilege is ours it is because the Holy Spirit willed it and here all rests upon the Holy Spirit’s decision and action” (pg.103). “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Because of that, thanks be to God.

I think about that day at camp now with joyful tears as I’m able to take a step back and see the glorious gift that was given to me. The God of the universe came down in the incarnation, died on the cross, and rose again defeating death. He sent the third person of the Triune God, the Holy Spirit, to bring helpless kids like myself to know Him and feast in the house of the Lord forever. With the rest of the people of God, I can look at this conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus and give thanks to the Lord for the eternal hope that we live in. By the grace of God alone, I can say with confidence the lyrics of Anne Steele’s Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul, “Yet gracious God, where shall I flee? Thou art my only trust.”