Born Again

The concept of being born again was something I never understood nor heard about in all the years I attended church as a child. It wasn’t until adulthood that I began to understand this term. Jacob’s story of his wrestling match clearly depicts being born again. Not only was Jacob given a new name, Israel, he battled his sinful nature all night in order to become the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob had to struggle throughout the night and he did not give up in order to come to his true identity and be born again. His physical strength alone could not win the battle, he could not overpower that which he battled alone. Even as Jacob came to this realization, he refused to let go until he was Blessed. “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”…Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” (Genesis 32:26-28, NIV) In the end, Jacob receives his blessing and is not only physically transformed, with his permanent limp from his damaged hip, but also spiritually transformed.

I previously shared my experience on Mt. Kilimanjaro where I nearly lost my life, that week long hike was my battle and spiritual transformation. I not only felt, but saw God on the mountain and my eyes have remained open. As I look back, I recognize when the oxygen deprivation started. I had started whispering the Lord’s Prayer over and over again on the last stretch to the top and I could never get past the first few words as my memory began to fail me. I didn’t stop, I would start over again and again taking comfort from the words I could remember and simply praying in a loop without ceasing. Like Jacob, I did not stop fighting.

I did not stand in fear as I struggled to breathe and oxygen began to feel like a luxury I would never enjoy again. I did not see my life flash before my eyes nor did I dwell on all the things I would miss. I did pray to God, I did give thanks for a life well lived, I did thank God for the comfort He gave me knowing my family would be ok. Like Jacob, I had some physical scars from that struggle that were evident on the outside. Like Jacob, I was born again and would never be the same. My eyes were no longer shielded or blinded to the works of God, my relationship with Him was forever changed. I was born again.

Today, I pray that if you are in a struggle or in a battle, that you pray without ceasing. I pray that you not only be physically, but spiritually changed. I pray that your eyes be opened to God in our here and now and that you are never blinded to his presence in the future.