The Miracle of Re-Birth

Both of my boys love to play with my iPhone. They use it to play games, watch cartoons and rearrange my previously organized applications. The truth is, they can find their way around that little phone better than many adults can. If I were to ask them how it operates, however, I’d likely get a shrug and then they’d be off to playing Angry Birds or watching SpongeBob.

There are some things in life that we just can’t explain. It may be that we just haven’t been educated in the subject matter enough or it may be that it is beyond our understanding all together. My dog, for instance, cannot fathom how I go to work and earn money in order to purchase food and dog treats for her to eat. All she knows is that I’m the one who supplies her food.

This is what Jesus meant when he told Nicodemus, “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” (John 3:7-8).
We may not understand how God does it, but when we place our faith in Jesus Christ a miracle happens. He supplies us with the Holy Spirit who makes us into new creations spiritually. Jesus calls it being born again and says that it must happen in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. We see the change in the person who comes to know Christ. They begin to desire God like they had not before, but we do not see the Holy Spirit himself nor completely understand how the Spirit performs the miracle of regeneration.

This revelation is not given by means of our own intellect, but rather by means of the Spirit of God. When we draw near to God in faith, He draws near to us. Though we may not fully comprehend the new birth, we can have confidence from God’s Word that if we call upon the Lord Jesus, we shall be born again!

- Scott Hescht