Why Does It Have To Be A Must?

​Author of The Real Life Mom series of devotional books, Christine Strittmatter, has a passion for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here she echoes a question she once asked before she found the way.

Note: Find Christine's latest Real Life Mom devotional in the PWP Bookshop!

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Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God . . . So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’”
                                                                                                     John 3: 3, 7 NLT

​Why does this Scripture—why does Jesus’ directive—have to include the word must?
It sounds so . . . so awkwardly odd, so stifling, so strange, so confining, so narrow, so absolute, so restrictive, so hard, so contrary to what many think.

So contrary to what I thought before I became born again.

In the Bible, there’s a conversation when Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about the Holy Spirit giving birth to spiritual life. Jesus explains one must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God before earthly life closes.

Jesus didn’t say, If you prefer. If you like. Or if perhaps.

No, He said we MUST in order to enter Heaven.

This isn’t a game, a hoax, a fictional fairy tale, or even cult theology. It’s the key to everlasting life with God. The only way. Jesus said He is The Way. (John 14: 6)

Make no mistake—do not miss this crucial decision for eternal life. We must be born again. We need a sinless Savior to atone for our sins. (John 3: 1-8)

We cannot save ourselves. We’re not sinners because we sin—we sin because we’re sinners. And we need Jesus, the Savior. This is why we must.

Drop your pride and rebellion. Pray and ask God for His forgiveness and yield to His Lordship. If you’re serious, He will meet you. Pick up the opportunity to make today the day you’re born again—born of the Spirit of God. You will be changed as His Spirit comes to live within you!