Encuentros inolvidables. Roberto Badenas

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СКАЧАТЬ be “born from above” is to begin to live fully. We are marred and limited because we are humans. We are not born totally alive. From the

      moment of our conception we carry death’s seed deep within us. To be born from above means reaching the summit of human existence through the restoration of a lost spiritual dimension. It means shedding the thick skin that envelopes us, forcing us to see that our small world is not the sole reality. It means opening our eyes to the light of another, better world. It means discovering that by connecting ourselves to God even our finitude can be overcome.

      Nicodemus feels dizzy, off balance. To accept and follow this teaching would force him to abandon his conventional beliefs and attitudes. Controlling himself through sheer mental discipline and struggling to preserve his point of reference, he sarcastically asks, “How can a man be born again when he is old? Can he enter again his mother’s womb?”

      Is Nicodemus old, or does he feel that it is too late for him to start again? His rejection does not stem from stupidity nor bad intentions. Rather, it is the defensive mechanism of a man whose belief system has been threatened. It is the response of a frightened, yet honest, intellect. Nicodemus needs to test the new ground before stepping on to it.

      From his human perspective he cannot understand how God can change a man and yet respect his freedom of choice. His private interview with Jesus will teach him that the idea of being born again is less absurd than that of trying to save himself by his own efforts. Jesus will show him that he can have an infinitely greater guarantee of success if he responds to the all-embracing power of God rather than trusting his own limited resources.

      But at this point, Nicodemus does not understand that Jesus is not requiring the impossible but offering the seemingly unattainable. He does not yet realize that the new birth is not something Christ requires of him. Rather it is a gift that Christ is prepared to bestow on him, fully and generously.

      In the spiritual realm the “self-made man” does not exist. We are incapable of rebuilding without help from outside. To begin from ground level is beyond our capabilities. To begin a truly new life we must first experience our own helplessness and our need for outside intervention.

      Nicodemus does not yet comprehend any of this so Jesus states the same thing in different words. “I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

      For an expert in the Scriptures, as is Nicodemus, the mention of water and Spirit is a clear allusion to the principles of creation. The new birth signifies a new creation. Thus the action is not human, but divine.

      Jesus explains, “In mankind there are two levels of existence, the physical and the spiritual. Each can transmit only the life it possesses. The flesh transmits the weak human condition. The spirit transmits the power of God.”

      To explain further, human aspirations reach no higher than economic well-being, family satisfaction, or personal prestige. From this level humans can never hope to become all that God has planned for them to be, nor can they overcome their own innate weaknesses.

      “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:6, NIV). Man can defeat his spiritual impotence only with God’s power.

      The new birth Jesus suggests means entering into a new reality whose center is God and not the human. It means passing from a life of dependence, restricted and choked by human limitations, to a life free and open to all the possibilities of the Spirit. It means passing from the reality of condemnation and death to the vibrancy of new life.

      Surprised at Jesus’ words, Nicodemus asks how this change is possible.

      With irony Jesus forces him to look for life’s meaning outside the bounds of his religious upbringing. “You are Israel’s teacher . . . and you do not understand these things?” (John 3:10).

      Nicodemus knows so much. Religion is his area of expertise. Living and moving in a world of theological argument and debate, he stands out as a learned scholar. But somehow he has missed the most elementary of lessons. He has not learned that the spiritual life depends not upon his own theological knowledge about God but upon his relationship with Him. He has not learned that it is possible for a person to obtain the high title of Doctor of the Sacred Scriptures without a personal relationship with the God revealed in Scripture.

      “You should not be surprised,” Jesus says, “at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:7, 8).

      The spiritual rebirth changes violent men into apostles of peace. Those formerly consumed by hatred can now forgive and love. The erstwhile mean, self-indulgent and egotistical person now volunteers his services in the most generous enterprises… One doesn’t need to understand the process of regeneration. The important thing is that it occurs, and for it to occur we must respond to the love of God in our hearts, constraining us to surrender to Him. The powerful energy of grace supplies the rest. No one knows how it occurs, but in a given moment it breaks into our lives and transforms us. The new birth cannot be explained. It can only be experienced. And not just once for all time, but each and every day (1 Cor. 15:31; 2 Cor. 4:16).

      Suddenly, Nicodemus realizes the shallowness of his knowledge of God. He has tried to understand from his own point of reference, but divine creativity cannot be enclosed within the framework of theology. The fault does not lie in his sources but in his interpretation. The Old Testament is a continual lesson on the incredible initiative of divine love. But just as it is difficult for the materialist to imagine a reality apart from things, the legalist cannot imagine a relationship with God other than in terms of obedience to law.

      Revealing his confusion, Nicodemus asks, “How can this be?”

      These are his last recorded words of that night encounter. From here on Nicodemus silently listens to this unusual Friend. Jesus tells him, “We speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen” (John 3:9-11).

      Nicodemus came looking for a messiah to rule over Israel. But God has decided to rule over all people. His Envoy will be king over all who wish to be born into a life without end in a kingdom of love without frontiers. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

      If God loves without barriers and wishes us happiness without limits, His objective—when He sent the Messiah—could not have been judgment, as Nicodemus and his colleagues believed. The judgment is the ultimate consequence of human choice. The mission of the Son was to bring life, now and forever. His aim was not to destroy some and save others, but to bring hope to all.

      Jesus prefers volunteers to pawns who are forced into compliance. His kingdom cannot be established by force, but by loving persuasion.

      Jesus reads Nicodemus’ mind as he wonders, “What must one do to have this life? How can one be born again?”

      Humanity, suffering from a deathblow deep within, needs only to grasp the new life as one with a serious wound pins his hope on any available cure.

      And Jesus had the answer. “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” (John 3:14, 15, NIV).

      The human race condemned itself to death by separating from God, the only Source of life. Our only chance of survival is to connect our mortality with eternity. Our destiny depends upon our final choice: to give in to the Light of life or to separate СКАЧАТЬ