A general stood on stage, quoting an old first sergeant from Georgia, “That dog don’t hunt!” What he meant was that something didn’t make sense. What he really meant was, “Something happened, but it doesn’t make sense to me that it should have happened.” Generally, whether something is or isn’t, it doesn’t really depend upon our making sense of it. Things either are or are not.
In John 3:1-5, Jesus tells Nicodemus he needs to be born again. Nicodemus doesn’t understand and asks a ridiculous question, “[can a man] enter a second time into his mother’s womb?” Jesus explains that what is spiritual is not physical. To be born again, Nicodemus must be born of the water and the Spirit.
What does Jesus mean? Man cannot save himself. There is no formula that someone says to be born again. No one can dream up a really cool way to prove himself to God and earn salvation. One need only submit to the water and the Spirit to become a Christian. Some will say, “That dog don’t hunt!” and object to being born of water, but it is not up to us to understand why Jesus said, “water.” I don’t understand why Jesus said “water,” but I trust the one who says, “Get in the water!” Do you?
Do you want to be born again? The water is ready—Jesus did everything that needed doing. Now, while a baby doesn’t choose when it is the right time to be born, you do have that choice. The time is right, right now!
I would love to study with you over an open Bible to see whether these things are true.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
