HOPE! - Where is God Taking Us?

The first part of John chapter 3 begins with Nicodemus, who is said to be a member of the ruling council, and he secretly comes at night to talk with Jesus, whom he calls Rabbi. 

Jesus' "miraculous signs" have convinced him that Jesus is "...from God." 

Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be “born again” to see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus has known this his whole life, but he wants Jesus to take the answer in a different direction, so he’s like, “Born again? What’s that supposed to mean, anyway? How can I crawl back up into my mother’s birth canal?” 

And Jesus is like, “Don’t play stupid with me, Nicodemus. The case has always been that you must be ‘born again.’ That’s what I’m all about. The reason God sent me into the world was so that my death would bring new life to all the world. I’m going to be lifted up on a symbol of death, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert – in order that you may experience new life, rebirth, resurrection.” 

Jesus adds, “You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

This is similar to what the prophets Isaiah says about the God who waters the seed within us to grow in His time. No work of the Spirit of God is wasted… even if we don’t understand what He’s doing. 

That’s what the incarnation is about. The God who fills the whole universe comes and dwells in a desert tent… in a manger… in us.

Even Solomon, supposedly the wisest man who ever live, said, “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”

Third Day puts it this way:

Like the rain that falls

To the earth below,

Watering this seed to grow,

So it is with Your

Precious Word, O Lord,

It won’t return until I know

You’re everywhere.

Like the wind that blows,

No one really knows

From where it comes and where it goes,

So it is with Your

Holy Spirit, Lord,

Falling down on us to show

You’re everywhere.