Who Really Lives?
William Wallace once said,
“Every man dies, but not every man really lives.”
– William Wallace
Truthfully, William Wallace may not have said those words. But in the movie Braveheart Mel Gibson, who played William Wallace, famously says this before he’s led away to be killed.
William Wallace was Scottish Knight who became famous for leading his countryman in a fight for independence from England. He was successful in leading his countrymen into battle and pushing back the English until he was defeated at the battle at Falkirk in 1298.
For the next seven years, he would be a fugitive on the run until 1305 when he was betrayed, captured, and taken to London where he would be executed.
If he were to take a knee and declare his loyalty to a foreign king, he might could have saved his life. But he decided that he would rather die than pledge his allegiance to a foreign king.
Everybody Dies
We live in a world where we’ve been reminded in very profound ways that everybody dies.
From natural disasters like the tornadoes that touched down in Kentucky a few weeks ago, to Hurricane Ida that hit the gulf coast in August, to the Cyclone that hit India in May, to the earthquake that took countless lives in Haiti last year.
And we continue to live in a world that suffers from sicknesses and diseases like Covid 19, cancer, heart disease, stroke, and the list goes on and on.
We live in a world where sadly there are shootings in schools and churches. Where people still die at the hands of racial injustice. And every time our hearts are broken at the senseless loss of life.
We live in a world where we’ve been reminded in a very profound way that everybody dies.
But how many people know what it is to really live?
What does it mean to really live?
There’s a story about a man who sought out Jesus in the night because he had questions. There was something different about Jesus. The way he taught was different. The people he spent time with were different. The way he lived was different.
Everything was different about this man named Jesus and he wanted answers. He wanted to know what it meant to really live!
John writes in John 3.1-6…
1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.
Sometimes the Pharisees get a bad wrap. Nicodemus was an esteemed Pharisee who came seeking Jesus. He wanted to meet Jesus, talk to Jesus, and learn from Jesus.
What we can sometimes forget is that the Pharisees loved God, loved his word, loved his law, and they thought they were doing the right thing. They devoted their lives to the study of Torah, the word of God for the people of God. They devoted their lives to the the teaching of Torah. And they tried to live their lives according to Torah to the best of their ability.
But in doing so they proved the point that living life by the letter of any law does not lead to life. The Law of Moses given to Israel at Sinai was intended to set the people apart as the people of God and enter them into covenant relationship with God. And it did. But it also led many into a life of legalism which does not lead to life.
Much like the church today, there were those of the Jewish faith in the time of Jesus who were all caught up in the legalistic pursuit of righteousness. If we just do everything exactly right then we will please God and we will go to Heaven.
And then there were others, men and women like this man Nicodemus, who were earnestly seeking the covenant relationship God has to offer. And Nicodemus thought this fellow named Jesus just might know something that he didn’t know about the life God had in mind for his people.
Questions & Evidence
2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
How did Nicodemus know that God has sent Jesus to them? Because of the EVIDENCE.
Nicodemus had seen and heard about the miracles that Jesus had done and based on that evidence he had come to the conclusion that the power of God was at work in the life of Jesus. So he came to Jesus with his questions about God.
And don’t miss this, people still have questions about God today. And people are still looking for evidence today. People need evidence. And if they see the evidence that the power of God is at work in your life then they will come to you with their questions.
You might say, “That sounds great but I can’t do miracles. I can’t make the blind see or the lame walk!” Maybe not. But when you think about the miracles of Jesus, everyone of them were just moments where Jesus loved and cared for people in extravagant ways. And it seems to me that is something we can do.
In fact, Jesus himself once said that the world around us will know we are his disciples by OUR LOVE. When we love each other and our neighbors with this kind of extravagant love, when we love people and take care of people in extravagant ways, people notice and people see the power of God at work in our lives.
Nicodemus is drawn to Jesus because of the evidence of the power of the love of God at work in His life so he comes to Jesus with his questions.
The Only Way to Really Live
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
In other words, the only way to really live, the only way to have the life that Jesus lived, to experience the life that Jesus offers, is to be born again. This is the only way to live the life God intended you to live, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and to experience SPIRITUAL LIFE.
That can only happen when you are born again.
Your first birth gave you physical life.
This second birth gives you SPIRITUAL LIFE.
Nicodemus, like a lot of people today, was completely confused by this. So he said…
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
Quick side note, literally being born again, going back into your mother’s womb, that’s not what Jesus had in mind. I’m sure you’re relieved to hear this. I’m sure Jesus smiled when Nicodemus said this!
Nicodemus doesn’t understand. He’s confused. But don’t miss this… Nicodemus is smart. He’s successful. Respected. He’s a leader in the community and in the synagogue. But he still doesn’t get it.
Maybe this is you! Or someone you know! Maybe there are people in your life right now like this. Smart. Successful. A leader in thier circles of influence. But they don’t get it. They don’t understand. And maybe you’re wondering how to help them.
Spiritual Life
If you read the rest of the story here’s what you DON’T find. This story doesn’t end with Nicodemus being baptized. At least, not as far as we know. Jesus doesn’t share 5 or 6 steps to salvation. Jesus simply talks to him abut the Spiritual Life and in so doing invites Nicodemus into this life.
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.
Everybody dies but not everybody really lives. Not everybody experiences real life, abundant life, SPIRITUAL LIFE.
Are you searching for this kind of life?
OR…
Do you know someone who has questions?
What would happen if you decided to extend them an invitation?
An Invitation to Dinner
In 2016, a woman by the name of Wanda Dench who lives in Mesa, AZ was getting ready for Thanksgiving at her house. She wanted to make sure her grandson was going to be there so she sent him a text message. At least, she thought she did. As it turned out, she sent the invitation to her Thanksgiving dinner to a wrong number. To a complete stranger.
The number she texted belonged to a young man named Jamal Hinton.
Jamal quickly texted back to let her know that he had received her text by mistake. After clearing up the confusion, he asked if he could still come to Thanksgiving dinner. Wanda replied, “Of course you can. That’s what grandmas do … feed everyone!”
What started as a text to a wrong number has led to years of friendship and shared Thanksgiving meals for Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench. They’ve been having Thanksgiving dinner together for 6 years now!
You know it’s true, you never know what hangs in the balance of an invitation.
I’m not suggesting we start texting random numbers, but this story is a reminder of the power of invitation and of just how many people are longing for someone to invite them to be a part of a family.
The Power of an Invitation
At some point, someone invited you to follow Jesus. At some point, someone probably invited you to come to church. But you were never invited just to be invited, you were invited to be an inviter.
Your invitation may be what someone needs to go further in their exploration of Jesus.
How many people around us are living but aren’t really living? How many people need an invitation into the LIFE, the REAL, ABUNDANT LIFE that Jesus offers?
What if, in 2022, this was your goal? To share Jesus with ONE PERSON?
What if we all identified a Nicodemus in our life, someone we know who has questions, someone who needs to see the evidence of God in our life, and we made it our goal to share Jesus with them this year?
Don’t misunderstand, nobody wants to be your project. It’s not your job to fix anyone. But it is your goal to share the good news that Jesus offers the good life to anyone who would come to him and be born again.
Think about this… How would it make you feel to see someone standing in the water that YOU helped come to Christ? Imagine it. Who is that person? Parents, maybe it’s one of your children. Maybe it’s a coworker. Maybe it’s someone in your neighborhood.
What if you took time to write down the name of your ONE. Then, simply started by praying for them by name each day. After that, invite them to talk. To the best of your ability answer their questions. Invite them to church. Invite them to coffee, to lunch, to dinner. And see where the conversation takes you.
Every invitation you make to others to come experience spiritual life, it doesn’t have to end in baptism. It is wonderful when it does. And let me take the pressure off of you… what we sometimes forget is that the Holy Spirit is already working in the lives of people all around us.
When we pray for people then invite them into a conversation about spiritual life, all we’re doing is asking to see if the Holy Spirit is presently working in their lives. If so, our invitation may be what they are waiting on to go further in their exploration of Jesus. If not, no worries… we keep looking for the person who the Holy Spirit is already working in their life.
Pray. Invite. Share.
We don’t know much more about our friend Nicodemus. But we do know that after Jesus dies on the cross, Nicodemus is one of the few people there. Along with another friend of Jesus known as Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus is there to take the body of Christ down from the cross and help give him a proper burial in a nearby tomb.
It’s one of the most loving things anyone ever did for Jesus.
Nicodemus was there for Jesus at the darkest moment in all of human history. Why? Because Jesus changed his life.
And Jesus is still changing lives today.
Do you believe it? Who do you want to invite into Spiritual Life?
Write down their name. Pray for them by name. Invite them to talk. Share what God has done for you.
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