travail in birth (revisited)

"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you."

Gal 4:20

If you have given birth or experienced someone giving birth, you can understand the depth of longing the Apostle Paul had for the Christians of Galatia. Paul is not talking about being an innocent bystander, he is talking about giving birth..actually “travailing in birth.” Recently I experienced someone coming to know the Savior…I can truly understand what Paul meant by travailing in birth. But experiencing the new birth as Jesus describes in John 3 is just the beginning. Now it is time to grow. To begin feasting on the pure milk of the Word as Peter describes, and to move toward the meat of the Word once we’ve taken those first baby steps into adulthood. I have found that time is not as much of a factor in a Christians growth as it has to do with the foundation that is set in those early days, weeks, and first few months—a foundation of storing God’s Word in our heart, fellowshipping with other believers, and fleeing from old sinful influences.

The new birth is truly a miracle...it is exaclty how Jesus describes in John chapter 3. "The wind blows where it listeth and you can hear the sound thereof, but you cannot tell from where it comes or where it goes...so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." The Greek word for "listeth" is an interesting word with a wide range of meaning. It can mean, to will something, to desire for something to happen, to delight in, to wish, sometimes adverbially it can mean gladly, to have rather, or to love. The New American Standard Bible translates "listeth" as "where it wishes," and the New International Version translates it as "where it pleases." Now that is quite the range of meaning. But it only stands to reason...or should i say, it stands beyond reason that our Lord and Savior would pursue us like the wind, where He pleases, where He desires, and wishes. His pursuit has so much tender love behind it.

When i was younger in the Lord i used to think of Jesus' illustration about the wind as haphazard or random. The wind comes and goes and you can't tell from where it came or where it goes...just didn't sound like there was a purpose behind it. When i think of the wind, i don't think of it having a specific direction or purpose. The Lord Jesus is pursuing us purposely and personally; delighting as he desires to win us over with His love. I like to think that His love is like a rush of wind that relentlessly pursues us. In Revelation we see Him knocking at the door...oh the love of our Savior...but we must open the door...we must not resist the movement of the wind.

The more we learn about the true nature of God's love toward us and His passionate pursuit and protection to keep us holy, the more we will be willing to surrender our old ways, our very heart. Truly, if any man/woman be in Christ, he/she is a new creation, old things are passed away, behold all things become new!