Oswald Sanders

Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3.

Sometimes we are fresh for a prayer meeting but not fresh for cleaning boots!

Being born again of the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, as

surprising as God Himself. We do not know where it begins, it is hidden away in the depths of

our personal life. Being born again from above is a perennial, perpetual and eternal beginning,

a freshness all the time in thinking and in talking and in living, the continual surprise of the life

of God. Staleness is an indication of something out of joint with God—‘I must do this thing or it

will never be done.’ That is the first sign of staleness. Are we freshly born this minute, or are we

stale, raking in our minds for something to do? Freshness does not come from obedience but

from the Holy Spirit; obedience keeps us in the light as God is in the light.

Guard jealously your relationship to God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one, even as We

are one”—nothing between. Keep all the life perennially open to Jesus Christ, don’t pretend

with Him. Are you drawing your life from any other source than God Himself? If you are

depending upon anything but Him, you will never know when He is gone.

Being born of the Spirit means much more than we generally take it to mean. It gives us a

new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything by the perennial supply of the life of

God.