Hey Jane,
Something interesting happened the other day. I asked one of your friends if she was born again, and she immediately grabbed her phone to Google it. That made me realize this is something we should talk about—because it's actually a really important question you should be able to answer without needing to look it up.
What Does "Born Again" Mean?
Let's break this down. Literally, "born again" means being born a second time. But spiritually, it means something way deeper. Think about this→ When a baby animal is born, for example a puppy. It automatically has the traits of its parents. It barks like a dog, acts like a dog, and even likes dog food. It's just natural because of who its parents are.
The Bigger Story
In the beginning, God created the first two people: Adam and Eve. They carried God's traits. They had God's Spirit living in them. Because of this, they had a close relationship with God. God would even come hang out with them in the Garden of Eden, just talking and spending time together.
But then something went wrong. God gave them one instruction, and they disobeyed it. When they did that, something inside them died spiritually. They didn't drop dead physically, but their connection to God was broken. They lost access to that close relationship they used to have.
Here's the problem: When Adam and Eve had kids, their children inherited that broken, spiritually dead condition. And since every single person on earth came from Adam and Eve, we all inherited it too. We were all born with that same disconnection from God.
But God had a plan. He sent his son Jesus to fix what was broken. Jesus died on the cross and then came back to life three days later. His death and resurrection made it possible for us to have our spirits come back to life and reconnect with God.
So What Does "Born Again" Actually Mean?
Being born again means your spirit comes alive with God's life inside you. It's like getting a fresh start—a new spiritual birth where God's Spirit comes to live in you, just like Adam and Eve had in the beginning.
How Do You Become Born Again?
It happens when you do these two things:
Believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that he's the way to connect with God
Say it out loud - Confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord
When you truly believe this in your heart and you're willing to say it out loud, something real happens inside you. Your spirit comes alive, and you get that connection with God that was always meant to be there.
The Bottom Line: Being born again isn't about following a bunch of rules or being perfect. It's about having your relationship with God restored through Jesus. It's about getting a new spiritual life that changes you from the inside out.