Every religion makes some contribution to the well-being of society. Every one of them has a point in common: giving man something or bringing man towards some goal. Although the methods they employ may be different and what they offer may vary, all of them have something to offer. Believing in Christ naturally involves receiving something from Him. Now we want to see what Christ offers to man.
What we are about to see are not the contributions made by Christianity to nations, governments, the world, and society at large. We want to study a more basic, crucial, and practical matter. What Christ gives to man is regeneration. When we believe into Him we receive regeneration. We have to admit that regeneration is a big subject in the Bible. We can only take a general glance at its meaning.
If you read through the Bible carefully, you will discover that it emphasizes life. In numerous passages it alludes to life. On this earth there are many kinds of life with many different expressions. Every life has its own unique expression. You can identify a life by its distinctive expression.
Take for example a bird. You know that it has life because it is living. You can also identify the distinctive expression of this bird. What is this expression? Even a child knows that a bird can fly. The flying of a bird is the distinctive expression of its life. There is such a uniqueness with the bird's life. When this unique trait is manifested, it expresses itself in flying.
Again look at a fish. Not only does the fish have life, but it expresses the characteristics of its life by swimming in the water.
If we compare the fish with the bird, we can see that though both have life, the expressions of their individual lives are different. A bird can only fly; it cannot swim. A fish, on the other hand, can only do the opposite. It is impossible for a bird to swim, even if you try your best to teach it. In the same manner, there is no way that you can teach a fish to fly in the air. Different lives have different expressions. The characteristics each displays allow us to identify them as different lives.
Since the mode of living is determined by the life it possesses, the question of life has nothing to do with learning and imitation. If the lives are different, there is no way to change one into another by a learning process. The only possibility is to have a change of life. If the life is changed, the expression of it will also change. If the life remains the same, it is impossible to alter the expression.