Pool or Ocean
Have you watched a dolphin show?
Many people think dolphins in a pool are smiling. But the fact is that it’s
just the shape of their jaw. That facial shape contributes to the myth that captive
dolphins enjoy a happy life. But no matter how big and wide a swimming
pool is, it makes no difference. They still spend their entire lives in tiny
enclosures performing some tricks for food, separated from their families, and
traded between venues. If we knew this, we no longer see a smile. We see pain,
lifelessness, hopelessness.
Now, imagine that you are watching free dolphins swimming and dancing in the ocean. There these wild dolphins enjoy freedom – swimming thousands of miles, playing in the waves, hunting, choosing a mate. A life of freedom.
Eternal Life
In today’s passage Jesus tells
Nicodemus about eternal life. We often think eternal life is about the length
of life, especially the life after death. Though it’s true, even more
importantly, eternal life is about the depth of life, or a life of depth.
Nicodemus was a privileged person in many ways. He was a leader of the Jews, Pharisee, teacher of Israel. But for some reason he felt miserable. He felt like he was living in a cage. He felt like he was just spinning his wheels aimlessly. So finally, he came to see Jesus at night. And Jesus said to him, “You must be born from above.” Of course, Nicodemus didn’t get it. “You must be born of water and spirit.” Jesus continued, then he spoke about the similarity between the nature of wind and the life in the Spirit. We can hear the wind, we can feel the wind. But we can’t stop the wind, we can’t control the wind, we can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going. It’s a mystery. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. Here Jesus is saying that the life in the Spirit (that is, eternal life) is a life of freedom. The Bible says, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17).
That’s why Jesus came. Jesus came to set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying (Heb 4:15). Jesus said, “I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Here Jesus was talking about eternal life. And it’s not just about the life after death. It’s a life of here-and-now. We can have and experience eternal life now. Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17, “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (v. 3). Knowing God, knowing Jesus is eternal life, a life of depth, a life of freedom.
Holy Mystery
“How can this be?” We ask. And
Jesus answers, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal
life.” Jesus said this to indicate how he was going to die (his death on the
cross) and how he was going to save. When we look to Jesus who is lifted up on
the cross and believe in him, we are born from above and have eternal life.
I would like to share the conversion story of E. Stanley Jones, Methodist missionary to India. The reason why I share his story is because he articulates well what happens when we encounter Christ. So when I read his conversion, I was so amazed because that was exactly what I experienced. When he was seventeen years old, he attended a 3-day revival meeting. On the third day night he felt like he got to go to the alter. And when he bent his knees, he felt like the seven colors of the light pierced his darkness. In his diary he described what had really happened[1]:
- A
sense of forgiveness and reconciliation with God, with life,
with my brothers, with myself. The universe seemed to open its arms and
take me in.
- A
sense of being at home in my
homeland. I did not try to make myself at home in my new condition and
position – I was at home.
- A
sense of purpose, direction, and
goal. I had been a raft, tossed
by storms and waves of meaningless emotion. Now I had been taken aboard a
great liner that was going somewhere, with some goal, with power to move
on to that goal.
- A
sense of not being alone. I had
Another who knew and understood me perfectly and was always with me.
- A
sense of being a person. My
total being was awakened and coordinated and fulfilled.
- A
sense of wholeness.
Fragmentation was over. Life was pulled into central meanings and purposes
around a single Center.
- As
sense of grace. How did this
happen to me? I felt so undeserving and so unworthy, and yet it was mine!
This is his unique story. But also, this is our story, every Christian’s story.
Nicodemus to Nicodemus
We don’t know exactly how and when
Nicodemus became a Christian. But at the end, he became a bold follower of
Christ, risking his life by asking Pontius Pilate for Jesus’ body for burial.
In the meantime, it seems like Nicodemus was pondering, reasoning, struggling,
gradually but surely coming to the faith.
And he did taste and see eternal life – a life of freedom in Christ. I
believe later on, Nicodemus would become an influential leader in the early
church, helping many other skeptics and pointing them to Christ.
Recently, Joyce and I watched the film ‘Devotion.’ It’s based on a true story – sacrifice and friendship between two naval officers, Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner, during the Korean War. Brown is the only black member of the unit, suffering from racism. After Brown’s car breaks down, Hudner starts giving him rides and eventually meets his wife Daisy and their young daughter Pam. Around that time, the Korean War broke out. Their unit is sent to support the South. Before they leave, Daisy has Hudner promise that he will be there for her husband Brown. On one mission, Brown’s plane gets shot down, and he is forced to crash-land. Brown is alive but trapped in his cockpit. Hudner sees it and deliberately crashes his own plan in order to help Brown. Hudner makes every effort but is not able to take him out from the wreckage, and Brown dies shortly after a Marine helicopter arrives to assist him. Several months later, Hudner and Brown’s wife Daisy attend the ceremony to receive the Medal of Honor. There Hudner apologizes to Daisy for failing to save her husband. But she said to him, “I didn’t ask you to save him. I just asked you to be there for him, to be his wingman. And you did. Thank you.”
Our calling is not to save people, but to be there for them. Our calling is to be a wingwoman and wingman for those God sends to us. Recently, God opened the door for me to share the good news with one person. He is a skeptic. He used to have lots of questions to God and still does. But for the first time, he said to me, “I might be wrong. I wish I could have greater faith.” As I was listening, I prayed to God what to say. Then, I shared the story of Nicodemus and also my conversion story. At the end of the conversation, he said, “I want to read the Bible.” On the next visit I brought him an audio Bible, because it’s hard for him to read books. He thanked me and said, “Victor, I am not speaking well. I am not reasoning well. I am dying.” I replied, “For Christians, to die is to live. We have eternal life. And eternal life is about the depth of life as well as the length of it. We can have it now when we believe in Jesus.” Then we prayed together. He promised that he would surely listen to the audio Bible.
I cannot save him, but I can be there for him. I am still praying for him often. Jesus promised, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). Jesus will do it. First, let us look deep within to see if our faith is genuine, just as Nicodemus did. Second, let us look around and see other Nicodemuses, who are searching and seeking. May the Lord give us strength and love to be their wingman and wingwoman. May the Lord give us grace to live a life of freedom in Christ today and always. Amen.
[1]
E. Stanley Jones, A Song of Ascents: a spiritual autobiography (Abingdon
Press, 1968) 28-29.
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