To understand Jesus, one must be born anew or born from above. To be born anew means to be a new person, to have a new perspective, a new way of thinking, a new way of life. It is one where things are seen through the eyes of God and not through human eyes.

Knowing Jesus

Understanding Jesus is a gift from God. We can only understand Jesus when we are born of the Spirit. To be born of the Spirit means one is led by the Spirit.

Jesus compared the Spirit to the wind. We know the wind blows but we do not know where it comes from or where it is going. Similarly, the one born of the Spirit is one who is totally docile to the Spirit - totally open to him. Only by being so, can the Spirit lead us to full knowledge of Jesus.

For the Spirit to move, one must believe in Jesus. To believe is to know with conviction even without proof. It is to trust in the Spirit. Wherever the Spirit leads, one goes, trusting fully that he leads to a deeper understanding of Jesus. This obedience and gentleness to the Spirit leads to eternal life. Eternal life is believing in Jesus. Believing in Jesus is saying YES to him. It results in trusting in him, going where he leads and following him - even if one does not know nor understand.

Look at the Lifted Jesus

Jesus said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

In that Old Testament episode, the children of Israel were attacked by serpents and died when they were bitten by the serpents. God told Moses to make a brazen image of the serpent and put it on a pole and those who were bitten would not die if they looked at it.

To live, the children of Israel had to look at what caused their death.

Similarly with us, we look at the lifted Jesus and we will not die. St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

When I look at sin, confront it and stare it in the eye, and I lift it up, uncover it, raise it up and confess it - that is when I shall have life. To be born of the Spirit, there has to be repentance first. Repentance is our way of telling God we seek his forgiveness.

There is no rebirth without repentance because we cannot receive forgiveness if we do not want it.

Born In the Spirit

The next step is to choose between lies and the truth. The issue is not which one we choose. Those in the Spirit will always choose and seek the truth. The problem with lies is they look like the truth. Even with a sincere heart, one can unknowingly be misled by a lie.

To be born in the Spirit, one must discern between the truth and the lie. This is possible only with the help of the Holy Spirit. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the gift of discernment.

Jesus Must Increase

John the Baptist knew where he stood before Jesus. His mission was done so he had to fade to the background. His disciples did not want that. They wanted John to still be in the limelight. But John knew when Jesus came he must decrease and Jesus must increase.

To be born of the Spirit is to let Jesus take over. He must increase and I must decrease. I must speak HIS words. I must do HIS will. I must share HIS love. What matters is Jesus - his words, his actions, his will, his power, his mercy and his love.