Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ 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.”

John 3:1-8 (NIV)

One of the aspects of growing older for many adults is the changing of their eyesight. When my parents reached their 50s, each of them ended up having to wear glasses due to a deterioration of their eyesight. Both of my siblings experienced the same need at about the same age as my parents. When I also crossed this age threshold, I joined the rest of my family in needing glasses some of the time. An optometrist explained that the reason for this was as our eyes age, the flexibility of our lenses reduces which impacts how we see. Since wearing glasses, I have noticed a change which allows me to see where before I struggled. The glasses have brought new life to my eyesight.

In John’s recording of the Gospel, we hear of a late night encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus. Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the night. Jesus tells him that no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. Nicodemus asks how an adult can be born again. Jesus explains that this would not be a birth of the flesh but of the Spirit. Jesus explains that only through a spiritual rebirth can a person see spiritual things such as the kingdom of God.

At times, our vision of the world and God can become inflexible like the lenses of our eyes. We need something to help us with our vision. Glasses provide that for our physical sight. The Spirit provides that for our spirit. We must be born again in the Spirit so that we can see the spiritual things of our God. Only by the Spirit can we see the true spiritual realm of the Lord.