Being born

I hear the word 'born again' thrown out in different Christian circles. It's never been a word I've used because it didn't make sense to me.

In fact, it almost turned me off. I had attended churches that made you feel bad if you hadn't 'accomplished' this, even though I didn't know what 'it' was.

How can a person be reborn? And why that image? I couldn't grasp this idea.

One piece of the puzzle is when Jesus appeared here in human form, he didn't just show up. He was born, again. Because Jesus was already in existence at the beginning of time, he was physically born again. He didn't have to be born from a woman, he's God and could have chosen a different way to present himself.

He humbled himself to come here, of course, but the other message he gives is about being born again. He is leading us into what's coming down the road. The message of being born again.
  
Jesus makes this statement in Matthew 13:19.

"While anyone is hearing the Word of the kingdom and does not grasp and comprehend it, the evil on comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart."

Nothing can be taken away from someone if it isn't there from the beginning. So, God plants a piece himself in and through us (all of us) at conception. He sows Himself in our hearts from the beginning of our life. Satan comes through suggestion and takes away what God has placed there (i.e. Adam and Eve.)

Because we are all born with God sown into our DNA, even when we are not taught the Word or know him through others teachings, when we have an encounter with Jesus and experience His love, it resets us to how we were originally created. We are 'reborn' in the way that God intended.

Jesus came to be the cure for the curse. He came to reconnect us with the Lord, to be the go-between between us and God. Because of Jesus coming, dying, and rising, this is what allows us to be 'born again'.

Jesus answered him (Nicodemus), "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 
John 3:3

He created us in His image and through rebirth in Jesus this is still possible. To be 'born again' we die to what we were so we can be recreated in the image of God, the way he originally intended.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image and likeness of God he created him;"
 Genesis 1:27

Because we live in a sinful, fallen world, we need Jesus to be born again.

This message is necessary for salvation but is also a tool to freedom for those who have believed the subtle but dangerous message that Satan has suggested. People who are locked up inside themselves, isolated, paralyzed, can't connect with themselves or others, or suicidal. The torment is so much they would rather believe the lie because they can't see any other way. It's like water that keeps rising around them and they feel like they are drowning. A fence that just keeps getting taller and blocking out everything they love.

We have to know to our core that God loves us from the time we are conceived.

I have struggled with this idea because the message I heard and received at church was that we are all born sinful, enemies of God. My thought then was, how could he love something created so badly.

The truth is because of the fallen world we are born sinful but we are created in God's image and He loves us so much.  He was so happy the day you and I were born. Jesus came to take on all sin of the world so being reborn would be possible.

The truth is God only creates good things. See Genesis 1.

The truth is He wants us to love people. Love is the most powerful tool to unlock messed up messages and lies.

The Lords prayer is powerful.

Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done
On Earth as it is in HEAVEN

He wants restoration here and now.

We are all called to bring hope to the hopeless.