Spiritual Birth Story

(This is part two of a four part devotion series. We’ll be posting the next parts of this series in the coming weeks. You can find the other parts on our Born Again Series page. )

John 3:8, Titus 3:5-6

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Last week we talked about the second birth that God works through faith in Jesus Christ. But today I want to ask a question how can we be certain that that birth has actually happened?

One of my favorite things to do when I meet people is I like to ask them, what’s your birth story? And what I find is, though, every single person alive has been born, we each have a unique birth story. Some were born early. Some were born late. Some were born naturally, others by C-section, some born at home, some born at the hospital, and all of us at different times and different places. You see, this is what Jesus means in John three when he’s speaking with Nicodemus and he says,

The wind blows wherever it wants. You don’t know where it came from or where it’s going. So are those who are born of the spirit. (John 3:8)

And what is Jesus saying? He’s saying, just as you can’t put wind in a box, we shouldn’t try to box up the Holy Spirit. This is important because every person has their own spiritual birth story. Every Christian story is different. Some came to faith as little children and never remember a time when they didn’t believe. Others came to faith later in life and could point to the exact moment when the Holy Spirit worked faith in their heart. For some, coming to faith was like a slow, subtle sunrise as the day gets brighter and brighter and you can never point to the moment where it began. You just know when the sun is finally out. They know they believe, but they can’t identify when that process started. Others might have always known Jesus, always known God in a certain sense, but they didn’t come to a full realization or understanding of the gospel until much later in life.

What the Holy Spirit is teaching us here is that just because he worked one way in my life does not mean I should expect that he must work the same way in someone else’s life. We cannot put the Holy Spirit in a box. At the same time, the Holy Spirit wants you to be certain that you are born again, and he wants your certainty to not rest in a memory that can change or go away, or an emotional feeling or something that can change. He wants your certainty to be anchored in God’s sure promises. And that’s why Jesus says that we must be born of water and the spirit.

And there Jesus is speaking about Holy Baptism. If you look at the promises that God makes to you in baptism, he says, baptism now saves us. Or in Titus chapter three, he says,

He [God] saved us through a washing of rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on you generously through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus 3:5-6)

You see, you are, you have been born again, and God, through Holy Baptism, has delivered all those gracious promises to you, the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in Jesus. Amen.