"Born Right the First Time?"

“Born Right the First Time.” These words had been printed on a bumper sticker.
Of course, I immediately knew the person to whom this bumper sticker belonged was not a child of God. Because of this, my initial reaction of shock and then smug anger, quickly, yet quietly, turned to sorrow.

I remember when my beautiful baby girl was born. I remember holding her and unwrapping the blanket that was wound so snugly around her tiny body. I must count the toes; for some reason unknown to me, I knew I had to count the toes. Isn’t that what we as new Mom’s do? We count the toes and we count the fingers.

All was well.

I never once had the thought enter my mind, as I lay there holding my baby girl, that she had not been born right. My beautiful child had come into the world following nine long months of anticipation. My only response was one of complete joy. She was now with me.

But as she grew, as lovely as she was, it would not be long before I would know that she was in need of a Savior. She was not innocent; nor was she sinless. She had a temper. She was devious, and one of the first words she spoke was…….you guessed it……….NO. And it was quite the emphatic “no” I might add.

My precious little girl was not born right. She was not born right the first time. No different from me; no different from you.
God’s Word commands us to be born from above; this way we have the power of God working in us. We have the Holy Spirit who comforts us; counsels us; He is our friend.

“In the Bible, Jesus says we must be “born from above.” (John 3: 3-6) In many translations, we read “born again”; this is our English vocabulary. Correctly, theologically, we are to say, “born from above” or, we are “a child of God.”
Understood thus, we have the Holy Spirit as our spiritual Father; we have been born spiritually in addition to physically, and so are truly ‘children of God.’
Jesus’ statement, then, is not a catch phrase but captures a deep theological truth. ‘Born again’ is a phrase which needs to be interpreted; ‘born from above’ is a phrase which only needs to be understood.” (Mills, M. (1999). The Life of Christ: A Study Guide to the Gospel Record. Dallas, TX: 3E Ministries)

We cannot do this life on our own power; we must be born from above. My prayer for you today is that you have taken this step and can proudly and confidently call yourself “a child of God.” Bless you.