Birth

Note: This is my Maundy Thursday #BecauseOfHim post.

4. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. -- John 3:5

Because of Him, everyone has the opportunity to come closer to God.

In John 3, we read:

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Well, I confess that I have marveled at this concept day after day. I have wondered the same question as Nicodemus -- can a person enter the second time into his or her mother's womb and get a fresh start? Can someone simply accept Christ and have that be sufficient? Can someone overcome a life where most everyone they know does drugs, where they went to bed hungry and scared, or where they were exposed to heavily thematic or pornographic materials from a young age? Can someone accept Christ and suddenly become a 100% church attending, scripture-studying, Word of Wisdom-keeping, dependable person?

With God all things are possible, but I have seen that that is a very, very, very tall order. It is so, so hard for people to attend church regularly for so many reasons. It is so, so hard to get out of poverty, especially when there are health issues. And we do what we can -- in our ward, for example, we have self-reliance classes and welfare and home teachers and visiting teachers and auxiliary leaders who try to reach out -- but it is not easy for the person in need or the people who are trying to help. 

And so I asked myself a variation on Nicodemus's question -- can someone who is not born to a life of privilege attain a life of privilege as if they were born again? Then, I had another question pop into my head -- do they have to be? Does someone have to have a life like an upper middle class child -- where they heard 30,000 words a day from parents, where they always had nutritious food and sanitary conditions, where they learned good manners and to return phone calls and emails, where they never even considered stealing or doing drugs because no one else they knew would ever do that -- in order to make it to heaven?

And I realized, that's not what Jesus was saying at all. What matters is that we have to be born of the Spirit. We have to have that spiritual awakening -- that realization that there is more to the universe than us and our own needs, the realization that there is a God who has rules that we've been breaking, the realization that we need a Savior -- and anyone from anywhere can have that experience. Anyone with a humble heart can be born again. Everyone, regardless of their privilege or talents, must be born again to enter the kingdom of God.

I have been lucky to be in wards where I've seen such humble, wonderful people join the church and be instantly welcomed into the family. Yet in these wards, there still are many, many names in the ward directory that I haven't recognized. I'm starting to appreciate what a foreign concept it might be to come to church every single week, to accept callings, and to be immersed in this culture often defined by middle-class, college-educated people from the western United States. And then on top of that, some might not have a reliable way to get to church!

And yet, even if they don't come each week or accept callings, they still were born again. They still had that wonderful experience with the Holy Ghost that gave them the desire to be be baptized. Perhaps we do not have all the resources to help make church attendance a habit as natural as breathing, perhaps some have not remembered the goodness of God that they felt when they first repented (Mosiah 4:11), but God watches over them just as he does the babies in the NICU who are still figuring out their lungs. Christ travailed for them, and He will not abandon them.