176: First Breath

"You should not be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.'"
– Jesus of Nazareth

Dear Friends,

Advent is upon us—a season not merely of waiting but of planting, where the seed of hope is buried deep in the soil of time. It is the prologue to Christmas when the Author Himself stepped onto the stage of His own story. But like all great stories, this one is layered. Beneath the glitter and sentiment of the season lies a truth so profound it shakes the foundations of our reality: that life springs from death, joy from suffering, and rebirth from what we thought was the end.

Have you ever considered what it truly means to be born again? Cast aside, for a moment, the tattered clichés and the defensive armor we often wrap around such words. To be born again is not a slogan or a doctrine but the startling, living reality of God’s relentless affection—an affection that invades every shadowed corner of the human heart.

The Incarnation of Christ is not merely an event in history; it is the eternal declaration that God has chosen to make Himself known not in distant thunder but in the fragile cry of a child. And yet, it is more. It is an invitation—a call to enter into a union so mysterious, so vivid, that we find ourselves remade, again and again, until we come to know the safety and intimacy that Christ Himself knew with the Father.

This, my friends, is the heart of the process of salvation. It is not merely a rescue from peril but the restoration of our true selves, rooted in divine love and revealed in our human relationships, by day and by decade. Every celebration of the Incarnation is pregnant with the invitation to come, taste, and see.

And here lies the wonder: this salvation is not a far-off promise. It is here, now, within reach of the humble and the weary, waiting to be received by you and by me.

This Advent, let us pause amidst the noise and receive this gift afresh. Let us prepare to experience the miracle of new birth, of first breath, as we are drawn ever deeper into the life of the One who has come to make all things new.

For the Kingdom,
Cherie and Morgan