Re-Learning then Growing

Being born again is an interesting concept even in practical life..
(understatement of the year)

anyway..

Think of it this way
we start off as infants - that's the state of Adam's 'innocence'
then it goes wrong - they listen to the wrong father, the father of lies
so they grow up according to the lie - to have hardness of heart

lets take a few examples:
1. food
- Food becomes an idol (cf Phil 3:19)
- life becomes a pursuit of the next meal - either for quality or quantity
- we live to eat
- it is a meaningless pursuit, since it can never be satisfied - and ultimately results in death
- the cost is that we now take the resources meant for supplying others with bread to supply ourselves - it also causes the death of others (cf. James 5)

2. sex
- Sex becomes an idol (everywhere)
- people become objects instead of persons
- they are used for our own pleasure
- that pleasure never satisfies - so we have 5 husbands, then we just end up sleeping around and indulging various perversions (cf John 4)
- sex costs in terms of ripping out the very life of other humans (cf 1 Cor 6)

So then..

Being born-again
We are once again infants
but now are pointed through the Spirit to the Word of our Father
we now grow up again - but differently
so the way we relate as children is different, but also the way we relate as mature is also different
taking the examples again:

1. food
- we learn that food is meant for sustenance
- we learn that food is meant for joy
- we learn that food is meant to enhance fellowship
- we now learn that fellowship=joy=true strength

as we grow up -
we learn that fellowship is the real food
and so we then substitute 'fake food' for 'True Bread'
we learn to fast - since what we want is the true food
we learn to give up for the sake of others - since we want the true fellowship
- in this we find true strength

2. sex
- we learn that sex is meant to enhance covenant relationship
- we learn that sex is meant to produce godly fruit
- we learn that people are precious and meant to be enjoyed by intimate relationships
- we now learn sex=true intimacy in covenant relationship

as we grow up-
we begin to no longer desire so much the temporary relationships (till death do us part)
- but long for the eternal marriage (so much so that some give it up in a way - cf 1 Cor 7:29)
- and so as single people or widowers or even married couples - we try to have real intimacy by spending much more time with our true Bridegroom


If this is true, then we have to re-learn everything from scratch again as we follow Jesus, but then not stay that way, and to grow up from our fleshly 'training wheels' into what is the new way of physical life by the Spirit

It also has many implications on pastoral thinking in different issues... as well as discerning people