Christian love, often referred to as Agape love, is a core tenet of Christianity. It’s more than just a feeling; it’s a transformative experience that begins with spiritual rebirth. This concept, being “born again,” is crucial to understanding God’s love and embracing a life of faith.
The Importance of Spiritual Rebirth
Jesus’s mission was to make disciples, not in the modern sense of students in a classroom, but as apprentices striving to emulate their teacher’s life. Our purpose, therefore, is twofold: to become disciples of Jesus and to make disciples for Him. This lies at the heart of the Christian message – pointing people to Jesus and inspiring them to live a cross-shaped life, a life defined by the principles of Christ’s sacrifice.
The Cross-Shaped Life
The cross is central to the New Testament. Unlike typical biographies where death is a concluding chapter, Jesus’s death on the cross occupies a significant portion of the Gospels. This emphasizes the depth of His love and sacrifice for humanity. Living a cross-shaped life means living under the shadow of that sacrifice, allowing it to shape our values and actions. But how do we know if we are truly living this life?
Five Marks of a Disciple
The answer lies in five key questions, beginning with the foundational one: Do I have a spiritual birth certificate? This question is paramount because without spiritual rebirth, true discipleship is impossible. This concept was highlighted in Jesus’s encounter with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council.
Nicodemus’s Encounter with Jesus
Nicodemus, a devout and respected religious leader, approached Jesus, acknowledging Him as a teacher from God. He recognized the divine origin of Jesus’s miracles. However, Jesus cut to the heart of the matter, stating that to see the Kingdom of God, one must be born again. This declaration shook Nicodemus, challenging his confidence in his own righteousness.
The Need for a New Heart
Jesus emphasized that being right with God wasn’t about religious rituals or outward actions, but about a fundamental change of heart. Nicodemus, like many, wished for a “do-over” in life, a chance to erase past mistakes. Jesus offered not just a new start, but a new heart, a spiritual transformation that only God can provide.
The Gift of Spiritual Rebirth
Spiritual rebirth isn’t something we earn; it’s a gift from God, received through faith. Just as we didn’t have to work to be born physically, we don’t earn our spiritual birth. It’s a divine act, transforming us from within and granting access to a relationship with God. This transformation makes us spiritually different.
Believing and Receiving
Nicodemus struggled to understand how one could be born again. Jesus explained that the only obstacle to spiritual rebirth is unbelief. To be born again, we must believe in Jesus and accept His gift of eternal life. This simple act of believing and receiving is the key to experiencing God’s love and entering His Kingdom.
Two Kinds of People
There are two kinds of people: those born once (physically) and those born twice (physically and spiritually). The question is not whether you’ve been born physically, but whether you’ve experienced the spiritual rebirth that grants you access to God’s family and His Kingdom.
Conclusion: Embracing the New Birth
Jesus came to earth so that we could be born again spiritually. He entered an earthly family through physical birth so that we could enter His eternal family through spiritual rebirth. True Christian love begins with this transformation, a new birth that gives us a new heart and a new life. This spiritual birth certificate, freely offered through faith, is the foundation of a cross-shaped life, a life lived in the fullness of God’s love.
