Part of the hallmark of our previous meditation is the need to keep the gospel according to design. Religious technicalities may proof to be of little use for those of little understanding. For example, when we speak of being born again what exactly do we mean? If we face the truth this is a “technical” term that people outside the wall of the church cannot comprehend. I won’t even be surprised if people who go to church regularly find the term confusing. Learned men in Jesus’ days like Nicodemus were confounded to learn of such term. Breaking it down, to be born again is to surrender absolutely to the Lord. In war, the nation that acknowledges defeat is made to surrender to the superior power, who would dictate the terms of peace. When a man surrenders to the Lord, he cedes control to Him in all things.

Breaking it down, to be born again is to surrender absolutely to the Lord…When a man surrenders to the Lord, he cedes control to Him in all things.

Becoming born again has implications, one of which is the fact that God reserves the right to dictate how our life will run. This is all the more clear when we examine how we are described. A verse in Psalm 100 says we are the sheep of His pasture. Sheep are not known to be smart. They need the shepherd for everything. The sheep is soon cut off without the tender oversight of the shepherd. As our text reads, we are called branches of the Vine. The branch cannot live, much less bear fruit, if it is detached from vine. These two examples are a pointer to the kind of life born again believers should live – dependence.