Rooted in Love: Living the Christian Life to the FullSample

New Birth

 Nicodemus, a Pharisee, and a leader of the Jews, came to Jesus at night for a secret, private meeting, away from the crowds that hovered around him during the day. He was on a journey just like us, passing from darkness into light. He asked: ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Jesus, a master of wordplay, often used words and images that were not always meant to be taken literally. The words that have been translated as ‘born from above’ (or ‘born anew’) would have left the original readers as bemused as Nicodemus. What do they mean? 

Some years after Nicodemus’ secret rendezvous, Peter focuses on one implication, as he writes to encourage scattered Christians in what is now modern-day Turkey. He explains that this new birth moves us from despair to hope, a secure hope of new citizenship now and of an inheritance to come that is imperishable and undefiled. This hope is a gift through God’s great mercy. Because we have been sprinkled by Christ’s blood on the cross, those things that would have separated us from God no longer do. Our sins are washed away. 

We are born, as Jesus put it to Nicodemus, ‘of water’, a washing that is symbolised in baptism, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is important to stress that the hope into which we enter is not blind optimism. It is not based on wishful thinking or fantasy. It is about a knowledge of the future, secured by the resurrection, which leaps into our present. And it does so in such a way that we feel secure in the here and now. This future is one in which God’s kingdom is fully realised, an eternal life in which there is no more death and dying. This hope is stored up for us in heaven and, while it may break into our present, it is something that we wait patiently to see in full. The promise of new birth also means being part of a new family and therefore enjoying a new citizenship, which bestows greater benefits than anything the world can offer, and which is not bound by our present hopes or troubles.

We are told by the author of Hebrews that hope is an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It is that which holds us when we are living in the shadow of suffering and death. New birth through the resurrection of Jesus Christ offers an unshakeable hope. The possibility of new beginnings and transformation not just for the individual but also for communities of people who follow Jesus Christ.

Questions for Reflection

1. Look out for new life around you today – whether it be a flower blooming or the birth of a child. What new life can you see around you?

2. How can you give thanks to God day to day for the hope that new birth secures?