My Bible does not say that

Once upon a time, I attended a church. It was a lovely church filled with lots and lots of friendly folks. After the first church service I attended, a woman at the church invited me to have tea with her. Being a tremendous lover of tea, I simply could not pass up the offer.

The afternoon tea appointment started off well. The woman and I exchanged stories about our families and a bit about our lives. It was the typical social chatter that encompasses two people getting to know each other. Soon the conversation turned to God. I was happy to talk about my faith experiences--churches I have attended, missionary work and other work I have done with my church family. Very oddly, the woman asked if I was born again. I was confused. "Born again? No, I am pretty sure I have had only one birth. Once was enough for my mom." The woman started telling me I had to be "born again" to be a Christian. I was terribly confused. I had thought I had been a Christian since I was a small child. I prayed to Jesus, loved Him dearly, and proclaimed His Word to children at Sunday school and on the mission field. But now, I was being told none of that matter because I was not "born again".

The woman showed me in her Bible where it said I must be born again. I looked dumb-founded at the words. I had never read these words in my Bible. I thought to myself, "My Bible does not say that." But in the midst of my shock and awe, I could not conjure up the words from my Bible in my head. The woman said I needed to pray a prayer to be "born again". In a state of shock that I was not a Christian, I eagerly prayed the prayer, which ended up being almost the exact same prayer my pastor said at the close of his services, and which I had said in my heart and mind countless times with the pastor. After saying the prayer aloud, the woman seemed satisfied that I was now a Christian. Still in a state of shock, I left the woman's company and went home.

On my way home, my soul was terribly grieved. I wept and prayed to Jesus, telling Him I was so sorry after all the years of my prayers to Him, loving Him and worshiping Him, I was not truly a Christian. I apologized for teaching His word to others, when clearly I was doing all these things as a non-believer. Suddenly, a gentle voice saying, "Open your Bible and read My Word," drifted through my head. But in my state of tremendous grief and shock, I ignored the message. For the next several days, I wept and lamented that for most of my life I had not been a Christian.

Finally in bitter distress, I opened my Bible to the passage the woman showed me in her Bible, John chapter 3 verse 3. My Bible reads as follows, "Jesus answered him, 'Very truly, I tell you no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above,'" (John 3:3). I wept and thanked God. Yes, of course! Born from above, being a new creation. We must laid aside our old selves filled with sinful wickedness and follow Jesus. This is what my pastor had taught year after year. The reason I did not know what the woman was talking about when she said I had to be "born again" is that my Bible translation does not use those words (and neither did my former pastor/church). I then realized I had let someone tell me I was not a Christian because the words in my Bible were translated differently than hers. Oh what relief flowed through my soul to know that indeed I had been a Christian.

Ever since this experience, I try to not judge if someone is a Christian. If someone tells me they are a Christian, I believe them. I will ask questions about what they believe to try to discern their beliefs and practices--do they pray regularly, do they read the Bible daily, do they believe the Bible is true, etc. Even if I get a sense that these folks may not have a relationship with Jesus, I never try to argue that they might not be a Christian. Instead, I will try to encourage them to read the Bible, to pray and to ask questions if they believe something in the Bible is false. If the person is not a Christian, I hope to lead the person to a relationship with Jesus. If the person is a Christian, I hope I can help encourage and strengthen their faith. Only God knows people's hearts and minds. I hope and pray I never hinder someone's belief in Him. "'All things are lawful,' but not all things are beneficial. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage but that of the other. So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many so that they may be saved" (1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 31-33).