Turkey Bacon

 

“Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.” John 3:6

The rancher ducked his head before the city slicker could see his smirk. He gestured toward the open barn door and invited his guest to peek inside. “Yep,” the rancher continued. “That sow was bred with a rooster and that’s where you get turkey bacon. This here is a turkey bacon farm, and yer the first to see it.” He winked at one of his cowhands while his puzzled visitor peered more closely into the barn. The rancher shook his head. He would never have believed he could get away with a story like that until he saw it with his own eyes. People sure were gullible.

We smirk along with the rancher, because we all know pigs can’t give birth to turkeys or any other species. It is genetically impossible. Yet, spiritually we act like city slickers. We think we can create spiritual life through fleshly effort. We grimace at the shoddy condition of our lives, so we roll up our sleeves and say things like: “I need to start going to church, reading my Bible, get baptized…” We hope that enough outward actions will produce spiritual life. But the opposite is true. Only spiritual birth can produce spiritual life. We can fake it for a while, but eventually we give up in frustration because the flesh cannot produce godliness (Romans 8:8). It is genetically impossible. 

Only the Holy Spirit can transform us. Only His life can change our desires, our outlook, and our actions. Without spiritual rebirth, we are trying to get turkey bacon from a pig.

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