Born That We May All Be Born Again
I want to play you verse 2 of my Christmas rocker He is the Reason. It goes like this:
Open up your eyes and see the Saviour
Born that we may all be born again
He is not just God - but God within us
With power to heal each heart and break each chain
The Purpose of His Birth
One of my favourite lines is “born that we may all be born again”, although to be honest, I got the idea from a well-known Christmas carol. Charles Wesley wrote what many consider the greatest Christmas song of all, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. One of the lines says this: "Mild, He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth."
Beautiful words! Much more poetic than my simple English! But we are both saying the same thing: Christ was born so that all people may be born again spiritually. You remember, I'm sure, Jesus' words to Nicodemus in John 3 about being born again - not going into the womb a second time, but being made new in a spiritual sense. Each follower of Jesus is born again when they place their faith in Him and receive His life-giving grace.
The Power of His Presence
Often we spend Christmas pondering the wonder of Jesus' humility in coming as a baby. It's a worthwhile thing to consider, certainly. But let's not forget the main reason He came. He came to offer people everywhere a spiritual rebirth - a new life controlled by the Spirit of God rather than by our own evil desires.
And it's important to remember it is His Spirit within us that enables us to live in this newness. The song says "He is not just God, but God within us". I love that - not just an impersonal deity, but a God whose Spirit lives in His people and gives them the strength and power to live holy lives.
He has, as the song says, "power to heal each heart and break each chain". Christmas is a wonderful reminder that when Jesus came to earth, a new power was unleashed - a power that could transform us.
So are you approaching Christmas with this emphasis, with this realization that He was born so that we could be born again?
If you've never been born again, perhaps it's time to have that moment with God and give your all to Him in faith, repenting of your life without Him and embracing His offer of forgiveness and power. If you have been born again, are you living with the power that He has offered, or have you left it by the wayside?
Jesus' birth enabled our spiritual birth, friends. Don't live this Christmas without the power that He offers!
