Born Again
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
John 3:3
Recommended Reading
Colossians 1:13-14
Suppose you were born in one country and learned its culture, language, traditions, and values as a child. Then your family moved to another country very different from your own. Suddenly, nothing was customary—new words, new foods, new practices, new sights and sounds. You'd be overwhelmed! It would be like starting over—like being born again.
Imperfect as it is, such an analogy helps when thinking about the meaning of being born again into the kingdom of God as an adult. Scripture says that before entering the kingdom of God, human beings are subjects of Satan's kingdom, the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13). In Satan's kingdom we learned to get something by grasping, but in God's kingdom we get by giving. In Satan's kingdom, we learn that the first shall be first, but in God's kingdom the first shall be last. Everything is different; everything has to be relearned. That's one of the reasons Jesus said we must be born again.
If you're a follower of Jesus and you find yourself doing things differently than the world, rejoice! It's because you've been born again and are learning a new—and better—way to live.
If you are never born again, you will wish you had never been born at all.
J. C. Ryle
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