Born of the Spirit

Born of the Spirit.

1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.[b] 2 He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born[c] from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind[d] blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”-John3:1-8

To be born of the Spirit, one must be incorruptible. But our nature is corruptible. How then can we be born of the Spirit. It is by believing in Jesus and accepting Him as our Lord and Savior. But it doesn't end there. I have known some people who believes in Jesus, accepts Him as Lord and Savior but actually lives a dissipated life. Jesus is constantly inviting us to live out the promises of our baptism as God's children. These promises do not make us slaves of Do's and Don'ts, rather, it is the only way to live a beautiful and fulfilling life.

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Brothers and Sisters in Christ

True relationship goes beyond one's bloodline.

31 His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. 32 A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers[a] [and your sisters] are outside asking for you.” 33 But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and [my] brothers?” 34 And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 35 [For] whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”-Mark3:31-35

During the time of Jesus, each Jew knew that s/he belonged to the chosen race because they descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But Jesus says otherwise. It is not because of one's ancestry or bloodline or affinity that makes one His brother, mother or sister, rather, 'whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.' We are God's children. We are all chosen. We are all favored if we do the will of God.

Let us not be confused by Jesus' brothers, sisters and mother. We all know that Mary is His Mother, and she remained a virgin in the end. But 'brothers and sisters' are also used to address one's cousins and relatives as in the Book of Tobit ["... Then Tobias said to Raphael, 'Brother Azarias, will you ask Raguel to give me my sister Sarah?'" - Tobit7:9]. As in the excerpt, Tobit addressed his kinswoman Sarah as his sister, and the Angel Raphael as his brother.

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