Of birth and life
"Do pencils come from Pensylvannia?"
"Daddy is older than Granny because he's much taller."
One of the fun things about parenting is watching my kids put the puzzle of life together. They make associations, figure out which words we use metaphorically and literally. Just this morning Callum asked me if I was opening a new orange juice. I replied that I was: could he see the seal on the bottle? My poor son looked quizically as he looked for a picture of a friendly sea-creature with flippers - but couldn't find the seal mommy was talking about.
But eventually, they will connect the dots.
Just this week, I connected the dots too on something I had never seen before. In reading John 3, I noticed for the first time that those much-used Christian terms "eternal life" and "born again" were first mentioned in the same passage. I had always considered them as separate terms of Christian nomenclature, but this week I saw they are connected.
There is no life without birth. 100% of people alive today were all born at some point.
And similarly, there is no eternal life without the new birth. There is no drifting into eternal life, no gradual discovery of it as one becomes more spiritually aware - it requires a radical something, a BIRTH, a birth of the Spirit.
How humbling to remember once again that I am not a believer because of my own cleverness or ability, in as much as I am not physically alive due to my own merit. I was born the first time of my parents. I was born the second time of the Spirit. And I am so thankful for both.
"Daddy is older than Granny because he's much taller."
One of the fun things about parenting is watching my kids put the puzzle of life together. They make associations, figure out which words we use metaphorically and literally. Just this morning Callum asked me if I was opening a new orange juice. I replied that I was: could he see the seal on the bottle? My poor son looked quizically as he looked for a picture of a friendly sea-creature with flippers - but couldn't find the seal mommy was talking about.
But eventually, they will connect the dots.
Just this week, I connected the dots too on something I had never seen before. In reading John 3, I noticed for the first time that those much-used Christian terms "eternal life" and "born again" were first mentioned in the same passage. I had always considered them as separate terms of Christian nomenclature, but this week I saw they are connected.
There is no life without birth. 100% of people alive today were all born at some point.
And similarly, there is no eternal life without the new birth. There is no drifting into eternal life, no gradual discovery of it as one becomes more spiritually aware - it requires a radical something, a BIRTH, a birth of the Spirit.
How humbling to remember once again that I am not a believer because of my own cleverness or ability, in as much as I am not physically alive due to my own merit. I was born the first time of my parents. I was born the second time of the Spirit. And I am so thankful for both.
posted by Bronwyn at 11:20 am
1 Comments:
I think my mom has a cassette tape recording of me asking about pencils and Pennsylvania. :-) A standard, but no less precious and whimsical moment.
I love the glimpses of your family through this blog. :-) It makes the distance between Davis and Seattle seem smaller somehow.
Post a Comment
<< Home