The Spiritual Man's Obstacle CourseSample

8. Breaching Barriers (part 1)

Taking the Plunge

“Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.”
– John 3:5

Jumping over and from things are common elements in an obstacle course race. Sometimes getting wet and muddy is also part of the fun. One never knows how high the walls you need to breach will be, when you will need to jump from a platform into water, cross a river, or crawl through the mud.

In our spiritual course, however, these are yardsticks all of us must pass. Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being born again—a concept this older fellow could not quite grasp. But being born again is spiritual, not physical. And it’s an act of willing obedience rather than forced labor.

As men of God, we all need to breach certain barriers as we are born again and start walking in closer relation and obedience with Christ. Before we can get to climbing high, we need to deal with the basics. We need to go deeper, before we can go higher. This means being born of water and spirit…

Into the Water

Jumping into the water and crossing rivers does not take great skill but rather faith to face uncertainty. It’s not necessarily difficult but remains daring. Similarly, being baptized does not require you to have a great skill or first reach a certain spiritual level. It is an act of obedience and faith in Christ. While it does not require any spiritual pedigree beforehand, it sets you on a path of greater authority and responsibility after. The greater our physical obedience is, the greater our spiritual authority becomes. And baptism through water is the threshold. It’s the physical act of a spiritual adjustment. It is the laying down of your old life and bondage, to be free to live a new life of growth.

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”– Romans 6:4

Baptism goes together with believing in Jesus. It’s an illustration of being cleansed and a "barrier" all must cross at some point of their course. In the first century AD, baptism immediately followed repentance. As you read the book of Acts, you’ll see every time someone came to faith in Christ, they were invited and chose themselves to be baptized almost simultaneously.

Read Romans 6:1-14 and reflect on the following:

• What’s your observation(s) from this reading?
• What’s your understanding of being baptized and born again?
• What’s your biggest obstacle to living your own life in obedience to Christ?
• What should you pray about after today’s reading?