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Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, she cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

  ~John 3:5-6

 

Good morning my dear sister!

The morning that I sit here writing to you is the xxth anniversary of my birth……my birthday! Some birthdays mean gifts, which I often downplay because, well….I’m not really sure. I guess I don’t want anyone to feel obligated to acknowledge my existence (except my children, of course! and, truth be told, even they are not always very good at that)

BUT, the Lord is always faithful to remember me! He gave me a special birthday gift this morning! Let me tell you about it!

I love the peace of morning! My usual goal is to get up early enough to have some quiet time with the Lord before I begin my busy day. It energizes me to face the day with a positive and grateful attitude for whatever lies before me. My special time with the Lord always starts with a bit of praise and gratitude like “thank you for waking me up”, “blessed be Your Name, may Your will be done today” or the occasional “ugh, help me.” 

My birthday morning was no different. I got up, made a pot of coffee, sat down in my favorite sunrise chair and opened my Bible.

Usually, before I open the Word, I ask God to speak what He wills to me through the pages of my Bible. Today, my Bible fell open to the third chapter of John with the heading “The New Birth”......on my birthday! I actually laughed out loud, closed the book and then immediately repented of my foolish action. Does the Lord have a sense of humor, or what?

Even though you don’t remember the actual event, every year, on the anniversary of that date, you are reminded that at one time you were born! Back then, you really had no say in the matter, no control…..totally at the mercy of your caretakers. Isn’t it funny how we all are born, not of our own will, into circumstances that we cannot control? In fact, not even control of our own tiny, little bodies! You had no authority over anything. Welcome to the world! (although I’ll bet that you were pretty cute !)

By now, most of us have celebrated many birthdays! You do have a say in many matters! Perhaps you are caretaking and making decisions for little ones depending on you. Or even caretaking and making decisions for an elder. Certainly you are making decisions for yourself! In the transition from dependence to independence, where does the Lord fit in? 

I’ve often pondered the ‘age of accountability to God” question. When is that? I don’t think there’s a hard and fast answer. When Jesus said “Truly, truly (which means He really meant it) I say to you “unless you are born of water and the Spirit you cannot enter the Kingdom of God”, you have to be of an age to comprehend what that means and have a mind mature enough to make a decision. We are obviously not born of the waters of regeneration or the Holy Spirit at our natural birth. That is, what Jesus said is true, “That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” 

So, when does this new birth occur?  It’s interesting how we are born into this world not of our own will and unaware of our helpless estate, yet we cannot be born into the kingdom of God unless it is by our will and are painfully aware of our helpless estate. Perhaps that’s when the ‘age of accountability’ begins. The Kingdom of God once again turns the world upside down!

I’m so glad that the only One who perfectly loves us calls to us to submit to His tender mercies, His abundant grace, His faithfulness, kindness and joy! He has made a way for us to dwell with Him, our everlasting Father, forever and ever! 

Nevermind celebrating our natural birthday once a year, we can celebrate our “New Birth” day everyday!

Glory to God!

With love, your sister, Celeste