The Bible contains many comparative images regarding birth from above, taking examples from birth into the world. The same laws, the same influence of environment, the same principles of upbringing and much more. We all have One Heavenly Father, One Holy Spirit and One Lord Jesus, Who together participate both in the birth and formation of a person born according to the flesh for earthly life, and in birth from above for Eternal Life.
Observing only our family and seeing the action of spiritual laws in our life, a person might think that everyone lives this way, and we are ordinary parents who have an ordinary child who develops according to ordinary laws. But looking at other families, listening to stories of other parents, seeing that avalanche of evil that is directed at destroying relationships and has no restraining force, you understand that you are special and your simple life under God's protection is also special, and your child is not like all others.
God's plan includes close cooperation of man with God and God with man. We cannot do without each other, and blessed is he who understands this. If we were uninteresting and unnecessary to God, then He wouldn't have paid such a high price for our salvation from the power of sin and death. It would have been simpler for Him to erase everything sinful from the face of the Universe and create new righteous ones who would live in love and know nothing else. But where would be the guarantee that sin wouldn't repeat, and everyone would choose good?
Living many years in the church environment, visiting different communities and having relationships with fellow believers from all over the world, we noticed that although we all have one Lord, one faith, one teaching and baptism, the environment of relationships in each church is different. Somewhere you aren't noticed, even if you want to be noticed. Somewhere they are indifferent to you, somewhere you are very welcome, and somewhere you are in demand, and a queue forms of those wanting to communicate and be friends with you, and everyone wants to invite you as a guest.
Although we also have the gift of friendliness and hospitality, due to poor health during pregnancy we had to limit ourselves in trips and receiving guests. But this was a temporary phenomenon, and all our friends related to our situation with understanding and waited for the moment when we would give birth and come to ourselves.
We also noticed very well that our cooperation with God on all family and educational questions makes our home a special place of God's presence and blessing, which everyone notices. We don't do anything special. We have modest housing and simple food. We simply love each other with a pure heart and share this model of relationships with other people, and they for some reason are drawn to us themselves and rest in soul and spirit in our society, not intending to forget us and part with us.
Parents are not chosen. We are what we are, and our child is the fruit of our love and a gift from the Lord in response to our good relationships with each other. Although any seed, falling into any soil, will sprout according to the law of the seed, in our case we took care that both the seed and the soil were processed by God's hands, and that the Lord Himself determined the time, type and character of what was sown. We simply entrusted all this to God and patiently waited for when He would decide to give us a gift and bring special experience and blessing into our life.
We have many friends who don't have children, and for some reasons they cannot have them, so we worried that we might be the same, but we continued to trust God and didn't get ahead of events, like our forefathers, Abraham and Sarah.
We also noticed that in some communities there is a desire to find new people, bring them to baptism, and then abandon them and engage in searching for others, as if the whole purpose of salvation consists in baptizing a person. And he, having become one of their own, doesn't understand what to do next, and what the meaning of his Christianity is. And he begins to seek food and occupation for himself. The same thing exists in many families. We finally gave birth to someone, and it will grow up by itself and somehow be raised. But we know that only weeds grow by themselves, and therefore we began to approach very responsibly the appearance in the world of a new member of our family. We didn't even allow the thought that this child would be left to himself, and when he becomes an adult, then we would explain to him what we expect from him. We decided to form his character ourselves, his tastes and views on life. We took into account all our mistakes and mistakes of our parents, trying to give everything best and allow as little evil as possible into our family world.
From the first days of the birth of the new person we understood that we very much needed special patience and humility, because this little "center of the Universe" was not yet familiar with our family order and imposed his new rules on us, which deprived us of sleep and squeezed all the juice out of us. And this "juice extractor" didn't worry at all about innovations in our home. And the only thing we hoped for was that the Lord would help us settle everything, would apply His hand and give us special wisdom, which we so needed. And the Lord worked miracles, which we sometimes didn't even realize immediately. For example, when teeth were cutting or the tummy hurt and the child behaved very restlessly, and we didn't know what was happening to him and how to help, and only prayed, suddenly peace would come, and the child would fall asleep sweetly, and all ailments would go away. Although this wasn't a rule in all cases, very often we saw how something unusual happened that solved all questions in an instant, and we found ourselves in a quiet harbor, finding peace.
Although these lessons are written in strict sequence to cover all periods and features of growth, looking back at the path traveled, one can safely say that up to this point the Lord helped us and continues to lead us further.
With the birth of the child, new obligations appeared in our life, and new responsibility, and a new view of life. We became different and will never lose that experience that became ours from within. And the way God tenderly cared for us, showing His love by the example of our relationship to our daughter, revealed to us even more the beauty of God's character and the depth of His love.
And our child as if felt that he was cared for and wished well, and at some moment of his conscious life he began to cooperate closely with us and help us in his upbringing, sometimes testing established boundaries and the constancy of our love.
Exactly the same way in any church every newborn person sees his status and how he is treated, how he is cared for and who is who. He comes from the world and doesn't want to live as before, but somewhere in the soul old habits still remain, which need to be replaced with new rules. And if he doesn't find those who will be his mentor and tutor to Christ, then the enemy of the soul will be able to use this to harm the soul and teach his concepts, which will have a pernicious influence on other members of God's family.
Any noble plant, whether it is planted in church or in family, doesn't grow by itself, but needs careful care, love and wise concern, as well as finding the source of living water itself and becoming independent in this Divine nourishment.
Questions for Reflection
Please read 1Cor.3:1-2; 4:15; 13:11-13; 14:20; Eph.4:13-15; 1Pet.2:1-2; Prov.16:3; 19:18-19; 20:18; Amos.3:3; Gal.5:14-15 in light of this lesson. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind? What did you understand from this lesson? Have you seen God's hand in raising your children (if you have them)? Is the parallel and similarity between newborn children and people in church clear to you? Do children grow and are raised by themselves without the help of mentors? Where does the Lord take greater participation: in the family or in the church, if He is called upon? Can a person choose spiritual parents for himself to be born from above through them? Can parents of a baby also become his spiritual parents through whom he is born from above for Eternal Life? Why do different churches of the same denomination have different spirit and approach to truth? Do children feel their parents' care? If so, does this affect family relationships? Does it gladden you that your child is in your power, and you are for him the highest authority and representative of God? What will grow out of one who isn't raised at all? Do new family members change your old orders and customs? If so, with what?