Life Signs

 

Friday, January 28, 2022

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.  After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus.  “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us.  Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”  Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”  “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus.  “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”  Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.  Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.  So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’  John 3:1-7

This is the entry driveway to the place I’ve been spending my lunch times, three days a week, for the past 5 months.  Cardio-rehabilitation is the introduction to changing a sedentary lifestyle to one of cardiovascular health.  In short, I’ve been reintroducing my ticker to the busy-ness of behaving itself. 

This view is what you see when you exit the building.  

It’s a one-way zone, you don’t want to get that mixed up.  It is much like life in this world; you come into this world, and you progress in one direction to the exit sign!  No do-overs!

Now that, as Nicodemus said to Jesus, is common sense.  How can an old man re-enter the womb and go through the process again?  Nic’s question poses a reductio ad absurdum,[1] Latin for reasoning a foolish explanation which explains the opposite of common sense.  In the natural world old men don’t get born a second time; with the flesh, this is impossible.  

So, this Pharisee with the long, gray beard, and easily recognizable robes, who knows (and perhaps loves) a good debate, wants Jesus to explain what he’s teaching.  And Jesus obliges the supposedly spiritually-wise leader of God’s people in a way that he never expected.  Reduced to the smallest common denominator, Jesus tells his questioner that each of us comes into this life one way, physically, and we know it's a one-way street where, someday, we encounter the exit sign.  That’s not new news; but Jesus turns the page and compares it to the otherworldly truth about eternal life in the Spirit. 

Jesus tells Nicodemus that the kingdom he should really be concerned about is not to be found within the four walls of Solomon’s temple, but the Kingdom where the breath of God blows – a place that has no place you can see, but will last forever.  It’s different than the physical realities one can experience.  In this kingdom you don’t go back to be born-over in flesh, but you can be born-again of the Spirit of God.  It’s the Kingdom of God, the place, and source of eternal life.

For You Today

One-way signs, meant to direct the flow of traffic, are common everywhere.  They’re important because they help us avoid collisions that can be disastrous.  There’s one of those signs at the entrance to the human heart; that’s where Jesus is standing, knocking, and speaking those “one-way” words:  You MUST be born-again![2]

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

---

[1] the form of argument that attempts to establish a claim by showing that the opposite scenario would lead to absurdity or contradiction.  See Wikipedia.com

[2] See Matthew 7:8 and Revelation 3:20