In a musical production of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Albert Finney plays the part of Ebenezer Scrooge. The move is a delightful reproduction of the classic Charles Dickens novel wherein Mr. Scrooge, after being visited by three angels, comes to repent of his past life, and determine that he is, from that point forward, going to live a life that denies self and seeks to bless others. Of particular interest in the musical to which I referred is the point in the story where Scrooge comes to realize the great blessings he has in life and his determination to “begin again,” putting his past behind him, and focusing instead on making the “new man” he so desperately wants to be. The idea of “beginning again” has intrigued mankind throughout the centuries. The search for the proverbial “fountain of youth” has been the focus of myths, music, and movies. In an attempt to ward off the “angel of death,” scientists have searched for some magical potion, some hidden gene, or some special dietary program that might allow them to recapture their youth and extend their life.
Jesus once confronted a Pharisee who had come to our Lord “by night,” and presented to him the distinct possibility of “beginning again.” “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus immediately envisioned some kind of a physical rebirth wherein one might “enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born again” (John 3:4). But our Lord assured him that this new birth, this “beginning again,” was not something physical, but spiritual. It is a birth of “water and the Spirit.” From a further study of the Scriptures we soon learn that this new birth allows man to start over; to put his past behind him, and begin again with a clean slate, a renewed hope, and a purpose in life. He is provided forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), entrance into the body of Christ (Rom. 6:3), and is clothed with a new set of spiritual garments unstained by the darkness of sin (Col. 3:12-14). Guilt and shame are shed like some old garment, and the youth of spiritual strength allows the individual to “mount up with wings as eagles… [to] run and not be weary; and…walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:31).
The search for that hidden gene that will somehow reverse aging is an exercise in futility. Medical science might be able to make you look younger, feel better, and even extend your life by a few years. But deep inside, within the soul of man, there remains that empty feeling that our past still haunts us. Friend, the only way to truly begin again is to experience the new birth through simple obedience to our Lord. Hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17), believing (Heb. 11:3), repenting (Luke 13:3), making the good confession (Acts 8:36-37), and being baptized into Christ are the necessary steps for this new birth. Yes, there is a land of beginning again.
By Tom Wacaster