I heard a story about a young, aspiring pastor who went to visit an older, established pastor of a large church. Upon viewing all of the resources at his disposal, the younger pastor said, “I want your job!” To which the elder statesman replied, “You may want to do what I do; but you are unwilling to do what I did.” Ouch. But that’s the point of rising to leadership in God’s kingdom: humility comes before honor (Prov. 15:33).

I was privileged to be at the birth of both of my children. Without a doubt, those are two of the most amazing experiences of my life. There’s just something extra special — I’d say miraculous — about a new birth. So, it’s no wonder Jesus took this awesome reality and used it to teach us an essential truth about our salvation and how to live as spiritual people.