A Series of Rebirths

Apologies for the lack of original posts over the last little while. It’s a pretty busy time of year for me, and the creative well is starting to run dry. On the positive side, I continue to come across memorable and thought-provoking writing to pass along. This morning I read an excellent reflection by Gordon Atkinson (aka, “Real Live Preacher”) on what it means to be self-aware, born again, and always growing. Here’s a quote from his post called “Born Again… and Again… and Again”:

I’ll tell you this much: I am still learning. Every day brings something new. Every season teaches me more about how little I know of God. I have hung many decorations on the walls of my mind—hedonism, shame, joy, religious ecstasy, lust, love, loss, fundamentalism, liberalism, apostasy, and reclamation. And yet, entire rooms in my mind are still unopened and undecorated….

Occasionally I meet people who seem to be living in a spiritually unconscious state. Their hearts are closed and their minds as well. Questions are not asked. Instead, answers that served well ten years before are ritualized, hardened, and pressed into little idols. With the night sky above us, the mysteries of our planet below us, and the words of the scriptures burning in our hands, why would we want to worship something we can put in our pockets?

A robust spiritual life calls for a series of rebirths. How many? That depends on your stamina. How about one a day until you die? Our understanding of ourselves and God is always being refined. In John chapter three, Jesus told Nicodemus that he should be born again.

I don’t think he meant just once.