Born of the Spirit

Today I read the third chapter of John. At the end of chapter two is where Jesus overturns the tables in the temple and goes pretty much crazy on everyone in there, righteously I might add. Chapter three starts out with Jesus meeting with a pharisee named Nicodemus. To me, Nicodemus is one of the most important characters in the gospels, besides Jesus of course, because he shows us that some who are involved in religious ideas and practices for the sake of religion are that way because of ignorance. They've been raised that way, which I'm sure Nicodemus was, and therefore they know nothing else. They don't know that there is a true relationship factor with Jesus. Nicodemus didn't let his religion stand in the way of the relationship with Jesus. He questioned and bounced things off of Jesus in a inquisitive way.

One verse that stood out to me was after Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus never sees past the literal. Jesus is a very figurative speaker, and just like the woman at the well, no one is thinking in metaphors. They can't see past the literal. Verse seven starts:

You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

This tells me a lot about how we should view missions. If we have professed and believe in Jesus Christ as the way to the Father, then we are all born of the Spirit. When it comes to living, breathing, and helping others along the way, they should see the effects of what we're doing, not the individual doing it. We do what we want when it comes to helping others, but don't let your pride get in the way of what you're doing. Be like the wind and move around all over the place, but only leave traces of the love of Christ, not your own name.

I think if a lot of people had less expectations for some sort of return when they helped people, the body of Christ could have a much larger impact on our community and the rest of the world.