But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Neighborhood Bumper Sticker
March 10, 2010
On the way home from church I saw a vehicle with the following bumper sticker: “Born okay the first time.”
Taking an obvious swipe at the biblical call to be born again, the owner of the bumper sticker apparently has a different take on the meaning of “okay” than Jesus did when he said, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
Something about our first birth is not sufficient, not okay.
Jesus continues, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
Jesus and the owner of the bumper sticker cannot both be right.
Pastor Sam Crabtree is Bethlehem's Executive Pastor and Lead Pastor for Life Training.