One of the constants in the Christian faith is dealing with words and phrases that are loaded with meaning and feeling for people. Part of engaging faith in the way of Christ for our time is redeeming the language of our faith. In More Ready than you Realize by Brian McClaren he quotes a guy named Dan who says, "I hope I never become born again.... A friend of ours at school became born again. She used to be a nice person, but now she's always judging everybody, and she pushes all her friends away."
Being born anew is not about separation from life and world, but full engagement in the lives of people in the world. To be "born again" in Biblical terminology is to be "born of the Spirit"--to get a new start. God calls us to be stripped of our prejudices and misconception and begin a new life in the way of Christ--peaceful, humble, loving, understanding, gracious, merciful.
In the words of scripture, "Behold, I am making all things new." That means even me and you! When Jesus invites us to lay down our burdens, maybe one of those burdens is our constant need to make judgements about others and to have all the answers.
1 comment:
You said "..... maybe one of those burdens is our constant need to make judgements about others and to have all the answers."
I believe this is probably the #1 achilles heel people have. I know I am guilty of this as well as my husband. Being aware of this burden helps me to deal with it. What bothers me is hearing others pass judgement and give me all-knowing answers. Do I keep silent or show my displeasure? If I'm not exempt from this behavior, then does that forbid me from calling others to their shortcomings? In other words, I do think I should do as Jesus would - to act by example but am frustrated that it may not be enough. That's the "human" in me doing the reasoning here.
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