The Wind Blows

In recent days I have been, with some reluctance, closing down our above ground swimming pool. Because it truly signals the end of summer, it is not one of my favourite jobs. The final step in a rather involved process for preparing the pool for freezing into a solid block of ice is to cover it with a very large tarpaulin. As I prepared to stretch the tarp over the twenty-four foot expanse, I paid attention to something that typically I ignore. I stopped to assess the direction and force of the wind. I have learned in the past few years that attempting to place the tarp in even a moderate wind or in wind that changes direction, even with assistance, is just about impossible. The wind the other day was steady from the west and was little more than a breeze. As I tied down the tarp with wire, the words of Jesus came to my mind. Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, who has come to Jesus by night in John 3: 7-8.

7 "Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the :sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

If you check different translations of the Bible, the term “born again” is also rendered as “born anew” and “born from above”. The last rendering suggests the spiritual aspect of the process in a little stronger manner. Jesus also refers to it as being “born of the Spirit” in verse 8. It is a highly personal and spiritual experience as you finally acknowledge that indeed you do believe in Jesus and are willing to follow Him. Again Jesus puts it so much better in John 3: 15-16.

15 "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Why does Jesus compare being born of the Spirit to the blowing of the wind? I went to William MacDonald for a little Bible commentary help in order to answer this question. The fact that the wind blows where it wishes reminds us God is in control and indeed no one is born again except within the will of God. The process of being born from above, like the wind, is invisible. We can not see it happening, but we can see the result of it just as we can see the waves on the lake, tree branches moved by the wind or indeed the pool tarp being lifted high in the air and off the pool. The result of course is the changed life that results from being born again. What we formerly disregarded and perhaps even treated with derision, we now embrace in great faith. Just as we cannot fully understand the actions of the wind, so we have to acknowledge the mystery of being born anew. We also have to acknowledge that like the wind it is very unpredictable. We never quite know when it will happen and to whom.

I am a living testimony to the changes to a life following spiritual rebirth and indeed the unpredictability of the spirit. I actively resisted being born from above until I was almost fifty years of age. Now I find myself publishing a devotional message every two days…but that’s another blog.

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