John in his Gospel tells the story of Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night because he wanted no one to know that the teachings and the healings of the master Christian had impressed him. His words, "We know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him," revealed his willingness to recognize the divine origin of the works which he had seen the Master do. But Jesus indicated that this was not enough, for he said to Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again."
To perceive and acknowledge the divine nature is the first essential, but one cannot linger in a merely passive adoration of the spiritual and good, nor can one follow in the steps of Christ Jesus without striving daily and hourly to gain more of the divine character and to live it in daily life.
When the Master said, "Ye must be born again," he referred to the regeneration of the human consciousness. Those not ready to perceive these statements may ask incredulously, as did Nicodemus, "How can a man be born when he is old?" This question has puzzled Christendom since the days of the Master, until Mary Baker Eddy, through her revelation of Christian Science, taught that a new heart, and a new nature, would be required, and that it could be gained by spiritualizing thought. She writes in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 15): "The new birth is not the work of a moment. It begins with moments, and goes on with years; moments of surrender to God, of childlike trust and joyful adoption of good; moments of self-abnegation, self-consecration, heavenborn hope, and spiritual love."
