Grace — Week 2 – Monday
TODAY’S VERSE
John 3:3-4
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (ESV)
I always assumed I had a good overall sense of direction. Having lived in a big city for seven years before moving back home to Kentucky, I could pretty much get myself anywhere without using my GPS. Then I met Hannah and quickly learned that the farm girl I married was built different. I may know bypasses, but Hannah knows backroads.
“Why are you going this way, sweetie?” she asked gently as we made our way over to Hamburg for dinner. Gee, I dunno babe. Probably because I’ve lived my entire life thinking Man o’ War was the only way to get there? Stay in your lane!
Learning something you think you already know can be humbling, especially for a teacher like Nicodemus. This was a guy who had the first five books of the Bible memorized and definitely would’ve known his way around Scripture (or at least so he thought). Yet when it came to navigating the Kingdom of God, he was pretty lost. Especially when Jesus introduced this idea of him being “born again.”
“How can someone as old as me be born again?” he wondered, taking Jesus’s words physically rather than spiritually. Up until this point in his life, Nicodemus’ concept of salvation required a lot of twists and turns in order to get there: diligently studying the law, doing good works, obeying God’s word, and following ALL of the instructions perfectly in the hopes he’d somehow wind up in Heaven.
To his credit, Nicodemus was smart enough to recognize that Jesus was definitely from God. He even assumed he knew all the ways he could get close to God. He just didn’t understand that Jesus was God, and that he was the only way to enter God’s Kingdom.
There are a lot of different ways to get around Lexington (and my wife is currently teaching me all of them). There are even people in our world today who will tell you there are many different ways to get to Heaven. But according to Jesus, there’s only ever been one way—to be born again because of our faith in Him.
APPLICATION
What are some ways we can show others that we have truly been born again? How can our faith help lead others to Jesus?
PRAYER
Lord, thank You for making a way for us through the love of Your Son Jesus. You are the only way. Help our lives to point others towards You this week.
