Franklinville United Methodist Church

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. ’” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is a wonderful book by Eric Carle. The story begins with a tiny egg on a leaf under the light of a full moon. On a Sunday morning, the warm sun came up and suddenly, out of the egg, comes a very small and very hungry caterpillar. The caterpillar begins to eat, and eat, and eat, but he was still hungry. Finally, he had eaten so much that he had a stomachache! The next day was Sunday again. The caterpillar ate through a nice green leaf, and his stomach felt much better. He built a small house, called a cocoon, around himself and stayed in there for more than two weeks. Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon and pushed his way out. Guess what? He wasn't a caterpillar any more, he was now a beautiful butterfly.

The story of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" reminds me of the story of a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a very religious man and was a leader of the Pharisees. He spent a lot of time studying the Scriptures, but there was still much that he didn't understand. Nicodemus came to Jesus late one night, because he was spiritually "hungry." He was "hungry" for the truth about the kingdom of God. He came to Jesus because he had questions and he knew that Jesus would have the answers. Nicodemus said to Jesus, "Teacher, we all know that God has sent you to teach us. No one could perform the miracles that you are doing if God were not with him." Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God." Surprised and even perplexed Nicodemus exclaims, "What do you mean? How can a man be born again?" Jesus went on to explain to Nicodemus that a person is "born again" when the Spirit of God enters into their heart as that person comes to a saving faith in God through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "Humans can reproduce human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.'" We are told that Nicodemus, in a sense, was scratching his head, summed up with the phrase, "How are these things possible?"

Think about the story of "The Hungry Caterpillar?" When the caterpillar came out of his cocoon, he wasn't an improved caterpillar, was he? No, he was a totally new creation. A butterfly! That's the way it is when we come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. He doesn't just make us a better person, He makes us a new creation! (2 Corinthians 5:17).

June 6 - June 2009