Recently, my son-in-law sent me a few pictures of our new granddaughter, Sarah Davidson. They were taken within minutes of her birth. She had a big frown on her face. She appeared very annoyed. Her expression seemed to be saying, "I was happy where I was! Why didn't you leave me alone?"

A day earlier, her life had been perfect. She lay around in a reclining position, suspended in a seemingly weightless aquatic environment. Food as needed, perfect temperature all the time—what more could she want? Certainly not the ordeal she had just gone through as she was thrust from her wonderful little cocoon!

The Trauma of Birth

Have you ever thought about the trauma a baby must go through to be born? What if a baby could speak and reason in the womb? Someone says to her, "Well, it's time to go."

"Go? Where? Why?"

"Don't you want to leave?"

"No! Life is great here! Leave me alone."

Birth—change—is traumatic for a baby, but what a future it opens. How limited life would be if she could and did continue on where she was.

A whole new life has opened to Sarah that she otherwise would never have enjoyed. Two little brothers couldn't wait to kiss her little cheeks, and a grandmother couldn't wait to coo and cuddle her. Then there's rope jumping, swinging, strawberry ice cream, love, marriage and motherhood itself!

Resisting Change

Our lives can become a lot like an unborn baby. We can get used to and comfortable in our own lifestyle and our jobs, and when something new and different comes up, we may not want to step into it because it is strange and different from what we are used to.

People stay in terrible abusive relationships because it is all they know. It is the familiar, and in their own way they have learned to cope with the pain. They prefer this to the unknown. They don't believe things could be so much better.

God has called us to a new life—to forever—to the Kingdom of God! In order to participate in it, He says a rebirth must take place for us. We must be born again, from above—a spiritual birth.

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God... Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God'" (John 3:3, 5).

The birthing process requires leaving one place behind and moving on to something new. It's putting the past behind us and stepping into a new life, one where the Spirit and Word of God guide us. For some that can be a little scary. It's the unknown, the unfamiliar.

Yet, realize that this present physical life is just as limited as that of an unborn baby compared to what God wants us to experience as His children.

Christ said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Many whom God is calling to be a part of His family are hesitant, procrastinating—perhaps satisfied with their life as it is, yet not knowing how much they are limiting themselves. There is a future so great that can be ours if we're willing to reach out and take hold of it.

"But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him'"
(1 Corinthians 2:9).

"Come on in, the Water's Fine!"

Years ago, the kids in our community used to enjoy Sunday afternoon swims in a creek that was a little colder than most. Some would stand on the bank hesitant about getting in until finally urged by others who'd yell, "Come on in, the water's fine!" If you haven't, maybe it's time for you to jump in—this new life is great. Many others are enjoying it.

Of course, this subject of being willing to change and accepting change doesn't end with baptism. We are called to a way of life that requires constant change to become more and more like Christ.

Sarah's adapting pretty well to her new environment. She's met a lot of nice people. They're surprisingly responsive to her wishes and needs—treating her like the little princess she is! She's quickly learning what a special little person she is. Already, I don't think she wants to go back where she was! UN