If you are at all like me, you can remember the day you were saved. Not that you were at all there at Calvary, when our Christ laid His life down for us… or 3 days later when He magnificently picked it up again. That is when we were truly saved, 2000 years ago on Jesus’ behalf. But there is a day, for each of us who believe in Christ, where we can recall making a decision to accept this gift of grace and mercy and follow the ways of Jesus. My experience was shattering and unforgettable. There were tears then and occasionally tears today. These tears and many joys have made me a completely different person than I was before meeting Jesus.
Your experience may have been equally as emotional and inspiring or a more subtle, subdued situation. You may have been 14 and felt a soft calling to your heart. You may be middle aged and finally giving in to a constant voice deep in your chest. Wherever you find yourself at that initial moment of belief (hallelujah!), no matter your life experience, you are an infant again.
Being “reborn” comes with all types of effects. There is a joy found that is irreplaceable and completely sustaining through trials. There are also some adverse effects. Because you live in a world that is broken and separated from God. You will also be, at times, separated. You will have to find a whole new way of communicating, relating and understanding. This can be a difficult place to find yourself, and at times very lonely.
Your worldly being and conscious has had several years to adapt and become accustomed to the ways of the world. Your spirit, in faith, is a newborn, young and, without God, vulnerable. Your best defense is to stay connected, as a child would his/her earthly parent, to God and His words (your bible).
Along the way you will most likely find that the most difficult times you have are not with relating to those around you however, but with growing spiritually and the lack of comfort you’ll find in yourself. Just as teens feel some growing pains and awkward, so will you. Thus far, I am noticing great difficulty in effectively communicating true love and sympathy. I feel them, and make attempts but maybe it’s all the years of cynicism that have me at a disadvantage.
Sometimes, I attempt to reach out to someone, as directed by spirit, in order to comfort, console, or credit them or their situation. To this point, I have been hugely ineffective at my attempts and they have even come back to smack me in my face. Does this mean I should just stop trying? No, when you are a child and you are learning to read, the vowels can sometimes cause you to stumble or look foolish. B-A-T duz knot spell bait. Practice makes perfect.
Phillipians 1:6 tells us this about God’s efforts in us:
Notice how it says work. Work is not easy. We have had so long to become worldly and a short time to reach spiritual maturity. You will still be angered, get frustrated, worry and make mistakes. A parents opinion of their child is rarely based on the results as much as they are the child’s effort. Our Father in heaven knows your effort just as you know or will know your own child’s.
Listen to your Father (read your bible), speak to your Father (pray), and love your brothers and sisters, no matter how they act, and your Father will bless you. Wisdom comes with age and experience. Do not expect Godly wisdom so soon. You, unfortunately, will find yourself in plenty of situations to build your wisdom from today forward. God bless you and be with you.
More of Us... 
Hey Josh,
This was a good reminder to think on our childhood. I truly believe that we are forgiven and some things are forgotten. But not all things are forgotten. I think God wants us to remember what we went thru in our childhood (for some things to make us better) no matter how dark because He has the answer and contrast to show us His light in the world.
We fight to continue in the world because of that Damned Flesh. Crazy power comes from the world and how boldly we approach our Christian life and attitude is usually not stemmed from God’s holiness and grace as it should be. It usually stems from other believers and how they perceive God and what He looks like. Which dictates our behavior as a body of believers. Because it is about a group, the church, He wants us to collaborate and form that perfect union. Even though we go to Him individually and nurture that relationship separate from the body it is by natural gravity that we become like our brethren. That is what killed Christ, our short sidedness of not going to Christ first then people. My world and what I believe cannot be contested by man. That is between God and I and there is a learning curve.
Hence back to my point. I believe in life being circular. God teaches and if we don’t get it, we are bound to repeat the lesson. I have been the focus of this process many times. Whatever the topic or lesson we will learn what He wants for our life. Denying the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin and the only one, so this tells me that if we fight what God is making us, we are doomed. Not sure where it goes from there, but thank God His mercies are new daily, huh?
The take home for me with this topic is God is timeless and His forgiveness of my old flesh is constant and complete. No do-over’s or rework necessary. Meeting us at where we are to be who he is, is all we need to know.
Thanks for the article.
Rich
Great thoughts. Most believers don’t truly appreciate the vast difference between being born again, which is a one time thing that requires no work by us, and growing as a disciple, which is on going and requires a lot of work and sacrifice on our part. For some reason, people assume spiritual growth happens automatically, but the bible teaches us to take responsibility for that growth. If we don’t study God’s word, pray, attend a good church to fellowship with other believers, and forsake sin in our lives, we’d be foolish to believe we’ll grow as a disciple and be equipped to do the works that God has prepared for us before we were even born. For some reason I can’t figure out, people want to reverse this pattern and demand life change and the work of forsaking sin for salvation, while assuming that growth is automatic and entirely the work of the Holy Spirit.