It was not long ago that wind was the focus on everyone’s mind as we waited for the arrival of Cyclone Alfred. The connotation of wind at that time in south-east Queensland was one of destruction. Jesus used the concept of wind to try and impart to Nicodemus that the Holy Spirit is mysterious and uncontrollable, but the Holy Spirit enables us to live a new life and particularly, a fruitful life. For those ‘born of the Spirit’ our lives are changed.

This surrender to being moved by the Spirit is not always a comfortable thought as it means a new way of living, and changing certain areas of our life can be challenging. Ultimately this ‘new birth’ is a way of reflecting and expressing to the world, God’s personal love for each of us and the world.

Nicodemus, like many of us, questions this. ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answers with a question ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?’ (John 3:9-10) Nicodemus knew that God was the God of the impossible and yet still struggled to understand what Jesus was trying to tell him. 

Jesus reminded Nicodemus that the remedy for a faithless Israel was to look upon the serpent mounted on a pole by Moses, foreshadowing the healing of a rebellious world through Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. We too need to look upon the One who has been lifted up as this opens the door to our ‘new birth’. We have become heirs, sons and daughters of a living God. The reward is great for ‘whoever believes in Him may have eternal life’.

by Donna Brennan