John 3 : 1-17 (NRSV)
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
'Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
'For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Daily Byte
To really encounter God’s extravagant, self-giving love can only change us. This change is so complete, so transforming that Jesus calls it a new birth. It’s like we leave the old behind and start a whole new one - a life that is lived in the reality and the principles of God’s reign. If there is one word to describe God’s reign, it is love - the love that did not hesitate to sacrifice itself for the sake of the world. Once you know, in the deepest part of you, that God was prepared to choose death rather than abandon God’s love for us, everything changes, and you find yourself striving to live in love in every relationship, every moment and every situation.
How do you feel when you consider that the cross was not too big a price to pay for God to show you God’s love? When you hold this love together with the idea of being ‘born again’ (as John does in his Gospel) what do you think this new birth really is? Are there any ways that you are afraid of committing to be a person of love? How can your worship help you to open to God’s sacrificial love even more, and inspire you to embrace to cost of being a person who lives out of the love of God? Would you like to be willing to give up your life for the sake of love? If so, offer this as your prayer when next you join a worship gathering.
Pray As You Go
You keep talking about dying, Jesus;
about how life is found
not by white-knuckled clinging;
but by a prodigal losing.
We nod and smile, and ponder the deep significance of these words, and then with a slow sigh of relief,
we go back to our life-preservers;
our safe, protected worlds;
our well-sheltered, comfortable spirituality;
and we turn our eyes away from those who reach out to us, those we could touch with Your life,
if only we would take the risk.
What were you thinking, Jesus?
Surely faith is about finding life,
not laying it down?
Surely we need to follow You in order to be sure
that life doesn’t end when we die?
There’ll be no dying today, Jesus - not if we can help it.
and if your promise is to be believed;
no dying at all - ever.
If only we could keep away the images of those,
the different, the lonely, the misunderstood, and the forgotten, the hungry, the abused, the least;
the ones in whose eyes we glimpse, in unguarded moments, the outline of Your face;
the ones in whose silence we hear a sound,
not unlike Your voice, inviting us to carry a cross.
Today’s devotion is taken from Rev John van de Laar’s outstanding book ‘The Hour That Changes Everything: How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be.’ Used with permission
To order copies of this book and for other superb worship resources visit http://www.sacredise.com
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