Author Archives: markdowe1

Arts, Christianity, Culture

What is being ‘born again’?

NEW TESTAMENT

THE term “born again” is used only four times in the New Testament. We encounter it, for example by Paul in Titus 3:5 and by Peter in 1 Peter 1:3 and 23. It never features in the apostolic preaching.

It is not unique to Christianity. The first-century mystery religions offered “new birth” into a higher life, often through bizarre rituals. The rabbis thought of the baptised proselyte (convert from another race) as a new-born child, too.

The idea of a fresh start runs through the New Testament, usually described by theologians as “regeneration”. It is a description of the injection of God’s living presence into a person’s daily life. It is illustrated by images such as passing from death into life (Ephesians 2:4,5) and from darkness into light (Ephesians 5:8-11). Christians are also “raised with Christ” (Ephesians 2:6) and the life of the kingdom to come is available to them (Romans 8:11).

However, the new nature isn’t yet second nature. We must “put it on” (and take off the old) constantly, Paul says in Ephesians 4:22-24 and Colossians 3:5-10. The “sanctification” which follows “regeneration” is a life-long process.

God is not a machine, operating in our lives according to set formulae which we can define. He deals with people individually, so there is no biblical justification for claiming a decisive “moment of commitment” or a certain kind of “conversion” experience. Nicodemus’s lack was not so much “experience” as “insight”; he couldn’t see how to relate to God in a personal rather than a mechanical way.

The New Testament test of faith which brings eternal life is not, “Have you said or done certain things?”, but “Are you trusting the LORD now?” (1 John 5:12). The past process is not important; the present reality is. The Bible is clear on this.

However, it is possible to believe the truth of Christianity and to serve, and yet still lack the transforming dynamic of Christ’s energy in one’s inner life. Whether that is a lack of “new birth” or of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, or the “dark night of the soul”, and what effect this has on a person’s eternal destiny, is never speculated upon. Human beings cannot judge the state of someone else’s heart.

What is required of each individual is to ask, am I firing from a distance, or am I embracing the target? If the former, an acknowledgement of guilt and a request to know and trust Christ personally will initiate a closer encounter. But even if the answer points to the latter there is no room for complacency. New birth is not an insurance policy but the launch pad for an often bumpy journey moving forward.

Love and serve the LORD.

Standard
Arts, Christianity, Culture

Old Testament: Ezra risks all

OLD TESTAMENT

A narrative on Ezra 7,8: Ezra risks all in journey of faith

ADVENTURE holidays are popular and are not without their dangers. For instance, not long ago a group of adventurers in Yemen were kidnapped and held hostage, and some died in a bungled rescue attempt.

Ezra is going on more than a holiday: he is emigrating on foot with others across 900 miles of potentially hostile country carrying expensive gifts and all their worldly possessions. The slow-moving group would be easy pickings for highwaymen or local resistance fighters.

Yet he prefers God’s protection to an armed escort (8:22). One brand of Christian spirituality similarly refuses anything considered “worldly”. Often this is biblically in error. God has given us minds to use, responsibility to exercise, and a world full of good things and people to work and engage with. The realm of the “spirit” is not exalted above any other part of creation; all are God’s.

However, Ezra’s example is to be seen, and followed, as a spiritual discipline of renunciation in specific circumstances, if not as a general rule. The priest throws himself on God’s mercy (which all are to do) expressing his faith in this unusual manner, in order to make a point to Artaxerxes and the returning exiles (8:21-23).

A decade later his collaborator Nehemiah acted in just the opposite way. He armed his builders against threatened attack (Nehemiah 4:7-18). Both men honoured God. Both did the right thing at the right time. It just goes to show that the spiritual life is not simply a matter of thoughtlessly following rules.

The Book of Ezra has a special meaning for today. It tells us that we should be broadminded and recognise that God can use anyone for his purposes. We are to look for his activity everywhere. We are also to come back to God when things fall apart by allowing him to rebuild our lives. Trust God in everything and use the commonsense he has given you.

Not like the old days

Earlier in the book (Ezra 3) we encounter a series of contemplations that are as relevant today as they were in Old Testament times.

Most of the Old Testament leaders knew there was more to life than religious routines. People had to eat and work; faith was the focal point but not the sole occupation.

There is a realism about the six-month settling-in period before the services begun (v 1). This allowed people time to build houses, cultivate land, and set up trades and professions.

There is also realism about the order of events. Worship began in the ruins of the old temple (v 3) and only after another few months is the rebuilding planned (v 8). But there are mixed feelings once the foundations are laid. Joy and elation are understandable, but why the tears (v 12)? There could be several reasons:

. Tears of relief: we’ve waited so long for this

. Tears of sorrow: we’re dealing with the results of our fathers’ sins

. Tears of disappointment: older people would see the new temple was not as splendid as the old.

Comparisons of that kind often occur in life, when people build new foundations on the ruins of a marriage, a career, a business, or even a church. The message of Ezra is that new life can spring from seeds of faith watered by the tears of repentance and trust.

Standard
Arts, Books, Culture

Book Review: The Covenant of Water

REVIEW & SYNOPSIS

FROM the bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial new epic of love, faith, and medicine. It is set in Kerala and follows three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret.

The Covenant of Water is the long-awaited new historical fiction novel by Abraham Verghese. His previous work, Cutting for Stone, published in 2009, became a literary phenomenon, selling over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years.

Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast. It follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person perishes from drowning – and in Kerala, water is everywhere. The family is part of a Christian community that traces itself to the time of the apostles, but times are shifting, and the matriarch of this family known as Big Ammachi – literally “Big Mother” – will witness unthinkable changes at home and at large over the span of her extraordinary life.

On display in this new work are all the great writing gifts of Verghese: there are astonishing scenes of medical ingenuity, great moments of humour, and the characters are imbued with a sense of life. It is a surprising and deeply moving story.

The Covenant of Water is a shimmering evocation of a lost India and of the passage of time itself. It is also a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding: a humbling testament to the hardships undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today.

Standard