you must be "born again"

John 3:7 clearly quotes Jesus as saying, "you must be born again". A gentleman was at our place yesterday morning and we were discussing "religion" and Jesus and life and stuff. He came from a strong Hindu influence and his opinions were clearly biased towards the culture in which he grew up. It got me thinkin. Just because people in the West grow up in a "Christian" culture, it benefits them no more than someone who grows up in the 10/40 Window (except in the fact that we have a greater chance of meeting a born again person). The only reason people even consider themselves "Christian" here in the west anymore is the religious tradition in which they are raised; it's the same for Muslims in Iraq, or Buddhists in Thailand, etc. Religion is religion is religion, the whole world over. A family background of Christianity is no more helpful than a family background of Islam, of Buddhism, or whatever. "You must be born again". We must have a relationship with Jesus that transcends what we've been told by others whose lives don't reflect the Savior (or Prophet or Teacher) they claim to follow.

It boggles my mind when I meet "Christians" who are passive in their faith, looking for any and every excuse to not evangelize or sacrifice etc. Paul writes to Titus and says, "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him...." Such is the Christianity we show the world. It's no surprise the world is not beating down the doors of the church begging for the Jesus we believe in.

At the end of the day, one religion is as good as the other. Religion always has to do with man reaching up to God. Jesus was God reaching down to man. It's so important to take this message, this Gospel of Jesus, to the ends of the earth, proclaiming "Freedom from religion!!!". It's our commission (Matthew 28:19-20). I no more want to convert someone to "Christianity" than I do to "any other religion". Religion just won't do. I want people to experience the love of Christ with no ulterior motives. Mother Teresa has a beautiful quote: The success of love is in the loving — it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done. Unconditional love has been betrayed by those who claim to love unconditionally.

To end this post, I looked up commission in a thesaurus, and you can sustitute 'commission' with 'to entrust'. God has entrusted us with His gospel. we need to ask ourselves: Have we been good stewards of this precious responsibility?