A Birth That Comes From God

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn —not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. John 1:10-13

THE DAY OF OUR CHILD’S BIRTH is unforgettable as the pain of childbirth gives way to indescribable joy. But as significant as our child’s birth is to both the child and to us, we know that another birth is needed —“not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” Why? Because our children are born spiritually dead.

This idea that our children are born spiritually dead can be hard to accept. As they grow, we might be willing to agree that they have some deficiencies and areas where improvement is needed. But the reality of their spiritual condition is far more serious. The Bible tells us that we are all spiritually dead apart from a miracle of life that God births in us. Apart from this grace, our children may look good on the outside but continue to have no real spiritual life on the inside.

But none of us can decide to be born spiritually any more than we decided to be born physically. Something has to happen to us —a work of the Spirit. So how does this happen? We are infused with new life when we no longer try to make our lives work through our own power or effort and say to Jesus: I need you. Apart from you, I have no life, no hope. I want the life that is available only by coming alive to you. I need you to take hold of me in a way that will change me at the very core of my being.

Lord, give ________ the ability to recognize you. Don’t let ________ reject you. Give ________ the faith to believe, the will to accept, and the right to become a child of God. We long for so much more for ________ than going through this life physically alive but spiritually dead. Call ________ to life so that ________ will never die.