There was a man named Nicodemus. He sneaks up to Jesus under the cover of darkness where nobody could see him. He is a good guy, respected, good at his job, goes to church. He is involved in religious activities. He has a good family. All the outward signs of his life were good. He had it together. But the truth is, he didn’t. He didn’t want anyone else to know. He was good at hiding from others. His sins, his regrets, his insecurities, and his fears kept him awake at night. He came to Jesus for some conversation thinking he could get a little advice and he would be fine. Imagine his surprise when Jesus said, “You must be born again.” In other words, “You don’t need patching up and tuning up, you need a whole makeover, a re-do, a radical change of life. You need to start living for me.” Nicodemus pleads ignorant. He acts like he doesn’t get it. He says, “How can a person go back to his mother’s womb and be born again?” Please! He knew exactly what Jesus was saying. He wanted Jesus to patch him up without making radical changes. Jesus said, “Hey, it doesn’t work that way. You need to start over, get your priorities right, and get yourself out of the way. You need to stop keeping God at arms length by being religious. You need Jesus. Remember, Jesus didn’t come to give you bandaids. He came to change your life, to save your life, to heal your brokenness, to forgive your sins. He wants to make you new. You can be born again. The old life can be replaced with the new. You can have a fresh start and a new beginning. It’s the coolest thing. Have you been born again?
– Dr. Tim Thompson