Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. -John 3: verse 3
If you've ever taken a road trip, you know that one of the first things you do is gather up provisions--maps, food, clothes, cash. Without gathering what you'll need first, you really don't have much chance of reaching your destination.
In the same way, Jesus' words, which come at the very beginning of his teaching ministry, describe how to start a journey toward a better life, most of which will actually be spent in eternity! Reading the rest of the passage, Jesus explains what he means when he says "born again." He is talking about provisioning ourselves for this life journey. He is talking about the Holy Spirit, our main provision for living this life well, and seeing the kingdom of God in the next.
It turns out that it is simple to provision ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Baptism and Confirmation are sacraments that do exactly that. Other Christians describe the choice to accept Jesus as the moment of rebirth in the spirit. To me, it is something worth doing that first time, but so important to keep doing, like refueling the car along the way.
Today, I will stop and refuel with the Holy Spirit, reminding myself of what I believe.
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