To be born again
‘Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’
• John 3:3
One of the greater joys of the Church is to see brothers and sisters in Christ publicly declare their faith in confirmation and baptism. The reason being the joy of knowing they also share the wonder of a new life in Christ. The assurance of His sovereignty, the comfort of His counselling and the depth of His wisdom are all experienced only by being born again in Christ.
It is telling that Christ describes being made anew in Him as a process of being ‘born again’, as life in Christ and life outside of Christ is as different as one that has been born and one that has not been. While we were in the womb, all we saw was darkness, all the sounds we heard were muffled and the space we thought was the whole world was less than a fraction of what the outside would be. To tell someone in the womb (if they were capable of understanding the question) what the outside world would be like would be incomprehensible to them and beyond their ability to imagine. But once they are born into the world it will become clear how vast and wonderful the world is that the Lord has made. The colours, the sounds and the scale of His creation needs to be experienced not just explained.
So it is with a Christian life. The life all humans share is good and worthy of praise, but it is still like a womb. A person without Christ cannot know the wonder of a new life in Him and how wide the world feels in His purpose. It is something to be experienced as well as taught. For those of us who have been or will be baptised/confirmed, it is a challenge for us to help those who don’t yet know the Lord experience the depth of a life in Christ. In our kindness, our purpose and God’s truth. It is also a reminder for us to continue to reflect on the privilege that is a life in Christ and to never let our pride cause us to forget to be grateful to the Lord and to praise Him each day.
Let us be glad in the new life that Christ has bestowed upon His children.
重生
耶穌回答説：「我實實在在地告訴你，人若不重生，就不能見神的國。」
約翰福音3:3
教會其中一個最大的喜樂，就是看到基督裡的弟兄姊妹在堅信禮和洗禮中公開宣告他們的信仰。這喜樂是源於知道他們能同享在基督裡新生命的奇妙。只有在基督裡重生，才能經歷到祂主權的確據、祂勸戒的安慰以及祂智慧的高深。
基督將在祂裡面重新再造的過程描述為「重生」，這是意味深長的，因為在基督裡的生命與在基督以外的生命，就如一個已經出生的人與一個尚未出生的人。當我們在母腹時，我們所見的是黑暗，所聽到的聲音是模糊的，我們以為那狹小的空間就是整個世界，然而那與外面的世界相比甚至連一小部分都算不上。向在母腹中的人（假如他們能理解問題）解釋外面世界的情形，對他們來說是無法理解且超乎他們能力可想像的。但一旦他們出生進入世界，便會明白主所創造的世界是多麼廣闊和奇妙。祂創造的顏色、聲音和規模，是需要親身去經歷，而不僅僅是透過解釋来了解。
基督徒的生命也是如此。雖然全人類享有的生命皆是美好和配得讚美的，但它仍如同在母腹中。沒有基督的人是無法知道在祂裡面新生命的奇妙，也無法感受到在祂的旨意中世界的寬廣。這不僅需要被教導，更需要親身經歷。對於那些已經或將要接受洗禮/堅信禮的人來説，我們的挑戰是要幫助那些尚未認識主的人體驗在基督裡的生命之深度，透過我們的仁慈、我們的使命和神的真理。同時，這也提醒我們要不斷反思在基督裡的生命是一種特權，並且永遠不要讓驕傲使我們忘記向主心懷感恩，每天讚美祂。
讓我們為基督賜予祂子民的新生命而歡喜快樂。
