Man. Life has been...well, life. Tomorrow is the last day of the semester for me, and I am definitely ready to get home. As y'all know, it's been a rough semester for me in pretty much every way, especially spiritually. I've definitely let my spiritual life fall by the wayside and I haven't been really holding fast to my beliefs! Not okay! I don't usually think much of New Years, but this year, I'm couldn't be more excited to celebrate new beginnings. That's actually something that we talked about in church today - being made new. The college pastor at Woodway talked about the story of Nicodemus in a way I've never thought about it before; he says that Nicodemus had an agenda. Nicodemus, ruler of the Pharisees, came to Jesus in the night to ask him questions. Nicodemus, a man of power and position in the church, came to Jesus. He starts to ask Jesus a question but before he is even able to finish, Jesus cuts him off and tells him that, "...no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again," Interesting. To me, this sounds like the answer to a question. Problem: Nicodemus didn't ask a question. So why did Jesus tell him this? Criner talked this morning about how Nicodemus came to Jesus with an agenda. He wanted to add whatever it was that Jesus was selling to his already good, Pharisee life. Jesus immediately cuts Nicodemus off to tell him that there is NO way he will see the Kingdom unless he is born again. Nicodemus can't just "add a little Jesus" to his life. None of us can. We need the transforming power of Jesus to come in to our lives, rip us apart, and make us completely new creations. We are told to be "transformed by the renewing of our minds" (Rom. 12:2) and that if we are in Christ, we are a "new creation" and the old has gone! (2 Cor. 5:17). Jesus doesn't do things halfway. Jesus doesn't do makeovers, Jesus destroys our old self and rebuilds us from the ground up. He doesn't add a nice touch to our story, either. Jesus comes into our lives and recreates us into a completely new being. He brings us into HIS story, and our lives cease to be about US. We live in a society that justifies everything it does - we don't think we've done anything wrong. It's hard for us to understand the weight of our sin - I'll tell you, it's not something that can be covered with a fresh coat of paint and some new curtains. We need TRANSFORMATION, not renovation. We need to be born again. This analogy, to me, is so interesting it's almost funny. Can you imagine being born again, at the age you are now? It would be messy, uncomfortable, painful, not to mention embarrassing. When we are infants, we aren't aware of all that - we only know that we are being forced to leave somewhere warm and comfortable and safe, and enter a strange, cold world full of things we don't understand. Our parents know that out here, in the world, is a better place for us. We trust them to provide for us and care for us, not because we choose to, but because we have no other choice. Infants don't actively choose to trust their parents - it is the only thing they know to do. We need to be born again! We need to be made completely new and then trust that Jesus is going to care for us. Really, we don't have a choice. He is our only hope, our only strength, our only chance at really living the lives God has for us.
Let's not be made over, renovated, or spruced-up. Let's be overhauled, recreated, and made new by the blood of Jesus. Praise the Lord!
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