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I found myself revisiting A.W. Tozer’s short, yet potent essay, “The Once-Born and the Twice-Born”, this past week, and it has whirled up a lot of dust inside my spirit. This vital distinction between the inhabitants of the earth is explained by Tozer accordingly: “Ye must be born again,” said Christ. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” This clear line of demarcation runs through the entire New Testament, quite literally dividing one human being from another and making a distinction as sharp as that which exists between different genera of the animal kingdom. Just who belongs to one class and who to the other is not always possible to judge, though the two kinds of life ordinarily separate from each other. Those who are twice-born crystallize around the Person of Christ and cluster together in companies, while the once-born are held together by ties of race or by common political and social interests.” Here again, the Apostle Paul draws this sharp line between the children of God and the children of wrath… “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” In essence, this fundamental dichotomy runs through all the pages of the Scriptures, and indicates that human beings occupy one of only two classes of people: those who have been born once in the flesh, and those who, in addition to this, have been born yet again in the spirit. In familiar Christian jargon, we say that these have been born again, or born from above. This is not only factually true but it is fundamental Christian belief. The Scriptures also symbolize these two races by various counterparts, such as: Jesus Christ and Adam, Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Isaac and Ishmael; one is God’s man on earth, and the other is loyal only to himself and the god of this world. Well, all of this is well and good, you say, but surely this alone hasn’t sent your spirit into a spin; this is, after all basic doctrine for most disciples of Jesus. Indeed, but what really set me off was a vital revelation flowing out of this distinction: that all of my life – including the part that I would label as ‘christian’, I have been attempting by every means possible, to get along in, or fit myself into this world, with its inhabitants, its systems, its economy, its culture, its standards, etc. Yet, for as long as I can remember, I have felt strangely at odds with almost everything in this world, despite all of my best efforts over many years to reconcile and conform myself to it. My inner reality is not that of the majority of people I see, and work with, and even have a familial bond with. What Tozer’s insight conveyed to me was that I am of a different origin from them, and that this separation and estrangement is only natural. I am a branch of the true vine, born of the spirit, a new creation standing upright in the light, and accountable to a different master. I am salt and light, in a flavorless and dark habitation (at least this is what Father desires of me). In addition, the once-born and the twice-born operate from diametrically opposite spheres. The one feeds the belly, while the other feeds the soul. The one lives for the moment, trapped in time, while the other embraces eternity and everlasting life. The one loves and adores the self, while the other despises it, and wants to forever be loosed from its tyranny and bondage. The one seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, ever reaching upward for a glimpse of the wondrous, while the other seeks ever increasing ways to indulge himself and his humanistic idols and appetites. No longer will I expect, long for, or anticipate the affection or understanding of this world. This is absurd! How can it love or understand me, and why should this be important to me anyway? I know deep down at a spiritual level why it hates me – because even the dimmest light will expose the darkness for what it is - and that friendship with it means spiritual danger and possibly even death. Like oil and water, we can sometimes touch but never deeply or in any meaningful way. At the most essential levels of existence and reality, we have absolutely nothing in common. This world and its god murdered the holy prophets of old, and a Perfect Savior; my Savior. How can I desire or expect anything less? I was born once into this world, by water and blood, to taste of its delicacies for a spell, but now I renounce it totally and completely. It no longer holds anything for me, nor I for it. No more will I consider the indifference and hostility of the world somehow strange or unnatural; a situation to be repaired or reconciled. I now realize the forces at play existed long before I or any man walked here, and that I (and my fellow travelers) are merely strangers and pilgrims on the earth, awaiting the arrival of a new and better country, a heavenly city, and the One for whom we have been begotten. This is our hope, and our faith is the reality and promise that it will be so. May Our Heavenly Father shower you with all spiritual blessings in His Son! Please pray for us here at Living-Walk, that we would watch and see the Master at work, and understand what He would have us do. Your friend in Christ Jesus,
Wayne |
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