Birthday…if you’re reading this, you had one. Do you remember it? Of course not…but it happened. Obviously. I remember lots of days when a birth took place. Today is my baby sister’s birthday. But honestly, I don’t remember it. I was 15, and on another planet perhaps. But it happened. Obviously….
We are all born from the womb of our mother. ‘Flesh giving birth to flesh…’ (John 3:6) There is absolutely no other way to have a human existence than to be born of a woman. And that existence is more limited than we are comfortable with realizing. “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble…springs up like a flower and withers away..’ (Job 14:1)
But… ‘He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men…’ (Ecc. 3:11) . Eternity is in the hearts of men, God put it there. We all have that basic desire to live. That’s why human beings cling to life in the face of devastation. We WANT to live!!
Oh, there are people who exhaust all their fleshly resources, having built their hope on self or other people, or “stuff”… only to be disappointed and let down…and with no hope, they forfeit their life in defeat. Jesus said ‘..the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10) Sometimes we believe the enemy’s lies about an escape. There is an escape for the human condition, and it IS death…“we died to sin….all of us who are baptized into Christ Jesus are baptized into His death…buried with Him through baptism into death…raised from death …to live a new life…united with Him like this in His death…our old self crucified…freed from sin…” (Romans 6: 2-18)
I love my life. Oh, I have stressful times, sad times, frustrations come and go. I get weary, angry, disgusted. My life is not all beauty and fun. But eternity is in my heart, and I’m aware of the promises of God, and the power of God to fulfill those promises in me.
See, I had another birthday, different than the one that involved my mother. This birth involved my Father. ‘Spirit gives birth to spirit.’ (John 3:6) ‘ My new life is not like my old life. My old birth came from mortal sperm, my new birth comes from God’s living Word. ..a life conceived by God Himself.’ (1 Peter 1:23 The Message) I don’t recall the calender date. But it happened. I hope it is obvious.
