How Do You Know?
I am in the midst of a study on the Holy Spirit. One of the questions that came up was on how to describe what it means to be born again. Nicodemus was told this was necessary to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.. Thinking on that, I thought as to how I would describe to someone that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have been born again.
The story comes to mind of the man that was born blind from birth who was healed by Jesus on the Sabbath Day. The rulers of the synagogue wanting to discredit Jesus for healing on the Sabbath and for being able to perform miracles so they sought after the blind man and his parents. His parents conceded that their son had been born blind, and upon further questioning told the rulers to seek out their son for he ws old enough to tell his own story. This is where we want to start:
24So once again they summoned the man who was healed of blindness and said to him, “Swear to God to tell us the truth! We know the man who healed you is a sinful man! Do you agree?”
25The healed man replied, “I have no idea what kind of man he is. All I know is that I was blind and now I can see for the first time in my life! John 9:24-25 (TPT)
When I think of my conversion I think of this story. I married into a family of what I called religious fanatics. I was 21 years old, fresh out of college and fancied myself some kind of great thinker. And my great thinking led me to believe that no Christian God could address the needs of Black people. What they needed was education, and the kind of education that had been denied us for all of our history in America.
As you can probably guess, true believers love the challenge of a sinner like me. And they went to work, on their knees in my behalf. It took a few months, but before my second anniversary came around, I had accepted the fact that maybe Christianity was for all people. I was not yet saved however. It took another year of attending church, being around my new family, watching intently on what everyone said and did. And by the time the next year rolled around and I went to a revival meeting, and the preacher there gave a message that reached my heart. He explained that being a sinner was not because you smoke or drank (which I did); rather, a sinner was someone who did anything against the will of God. That God had a plan for our lives and it was a good plan and He would help us to fulfill it.
That message reached my reluctant heart. I can’t say that heaven opened up and dropped salvation dust on me, all I know from that day I believed by faith that Jesus forgave me, came into my heart, and forever changed my life! The proof of it was I wanted to tell everybody about this Jesus – I became a witness like Jesus said in Acts 1.
I can’t tell you how Jesus does it, except by scripture that has let me know since then, that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to as many who would receive (John 1) , that the Holy Spirit might teach us all things and bring all things to our remembrance. Suddenly, the Word of God which had been so difficult to understand, became clear to me, in fact so clear that it soon became obvious that God had given me the ability not just to teach history in a public high school, He had gifted me the ability to teach His Word.
How do I know that I was born again? That which I did – against the will of God – I no longer wanted to do. That which I would think upon, drastically changed from thinking like the world that I once felt held the answers, to knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that only God had all the answers. I went from having real issues with certain people, to embracing those same people and learning to love them. Some things changed immediately, others took time – but just as a child learns progressively as he grows, so too did I- and the wonderful thing is – I am still growing – for the ways of God are past finding out – He is always challenging and stretching us. Therefore I can say with more assurance than the blind man that was healed by Jesus,” I know I was blind to the eternal truth of God and HIs Word, but now I have had the scales fall off my eyes and heart, and I can see even the Kingdom of God.
Maria