I
believe Jesus senses Nicodemus has finally caught on to what he is trying to
communicate. This unlikely Pharisee is
still reeling from this completely new perspective into the character of
God. His spiritual fiber has been
knitted in the ritualized and formalized religious factories of Judaism. God is seen as a just but severe sovereign
that rewards the righteous and punishes the ungodly. The world is clearly divided into these two
groups-- the good and the evil. He has
lived an upright life of piety and purity and most likely believes his status
in life is a reward, the obvious result of divine approval.
But
Jesus has turned his religious-reward incentivized world on its head. He is stripped of his human merit and has
seen it replaced by a wholly divine initiative.
In this broken condition Jesus shares a word picture that must have
helped Nicodemus regain some perspective.
"It's like the wind, Nicodemus" Jesus suggests. It cannot be packaged neatly for Nicodemus’
convenience. The thought must have been
comforting and frightening simultaneously!
It
is no less frightening to me today. It
would seem to be so much easier to have God fit into my man-made mold. But divinity is not a controllable
entity. And just as the wind can swirl
and change directions without warning, so it is in my life, I cannot anticipate
where God will lead and how He will get me there. God calls me to trust him and to be open to
his leading. There is only one guarantee
given to me as a believer, God will never leave me. The One who initiates the work assures me that
He will finish what He began. My
participation is merely the evidence He is working in me, not my attempt to
gain merit in His eyes. That is a
freedom that even the wind envies.
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