I have the memory of birth on my mind. Not my own, mind you, but that of my third child. As of the time I’m writing this, Leo was born two weeks ago. Currently, he is cradled in his mother's arms, who happens to be my wife. I know, we're so traditional. He’s getting all the love and milk he could want. He is completely unaware of the two big categories of anxiety that his parents have been suffering as of late. 

The first category of concern is what I call pre-birth burdens. The months leading up to a birth are stressful. There are appointments to make, tests to take, results to await, and late-night snack cravings to abate. Now that we've had three kids, I can say that I am no less anxious as a daunting due date draws near. It amazes me how cool and collected my wife seems as the big day gets close. Though she assures me that she does, in fact, have pre-birth concerns as well. 

Once the baby is born, there is a whole new category of after-birth anxiety. The growth worries begin as soon as the infant takes his first breath. The excited parent’s minds are racing toward troubling thoughts like, Is he gaining weight? Is he gaining too much? Is he the right color? What color is a baby supposed to be? Did I leave the oven on? The after-birth anxieties never seem to stop, morphing and changing as the child grows into new phases of life replete with fresh dangers at every inch gained. 

The post-birth worries have been intense for my wife and me. The last two weeks have left us under a perpetual darkened cloud of fretting. A few days after Leo's birth, we got a distressing call from his doctor, informing us that he potentially has a life-altering genetic disease. The pacing, pondering, and praying began. Well, actually, there was plenty of pacing already, but we added to the regimen. We imagined with horrified effect, our baby's future, who might never get a chance to grow and mature to adulthood. 

These two major categories of parental concerns, pre-birth burdens and post-birth growth worries, mirror well a set of vital distinctions found throughout the Bible. For all people who have ever lived, the first and most formidable concern they should be considering is their eternal destiny. Let's take a look at what we might call our Spiritual Pre-Birth Concerns.

Jesus was helping a friend consider his eternal destiny in a late-night conversation recorded in the third chapter of John's Gospel. In the verse below, Jesus draws clearly, the fault lines between God's Kingdom and everywhere else.

…Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

You don't take a plane, car, or even walk into God's Kingdom. The only way to arrive is to be born into it metaphorically speaking. He goes on to explain that anyone who does not fulfill God's requirement cannot enter the kingdom of God. (Jn 3:5) Jesus draws this dividing line, an eternal distinction between these two everlasting destinies. 

We must be born again. The man Jesus was talking to was confused by Jesus’ strange claim. “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” (Jn 3:4 NLT) The rest of the conversation is Jesus’ explanation for how a person gets born again. 

One of the best-known verses in the Bible comes as part of Jesus' explanation for how a person experiences this second birth, John 3:16. 

…whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. (Jn 3:16 NKJV)^⁠1

As we discovered in the last chapter, there’s one thing you are required to do by this verse. You must believe in Jesus to receive everlasting life. When you do, that everlasting life is placed inside of you. In other words, you’re born again with a new everlasting spiritual life, and you can never lose this life. That’s it.

As soon as a person is born again, they can stop worrying about their own Spiritual Pre-Birth Concerns. It's an unfortunate thing that many people, after being born again, eventually begin to doubt that they were really born again. It is significant that Jesus uses the analogy of being born to signify our eternal salvation. My birthday happened in December of 1982. How absurd would it be for me to daily doubt my first birthday? Jesus uses the analogy of birth to explain our salvation experience because he doesn’t want us to doubt it. Believe in him for everlasting life, and you have it immediately and forever. 

Now that the Spiritual Pre-Birth Concerns are laid to rest, a whole new type of concern begins: Spiritual Growth Concerns. The majority of the Bible is not focused on how to be born again but instead devoted to concerns about the spiritual growth of those who already are. 

These spiritual growth concerns are all about the second eternal distinction, believer’s obedience. There is a distinction between a spiritual newborn and a growing believer. Paul has something to say about this distinction:

For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:1 CSB)

Paul calls his readers “brothers and sisters.” Paul never calls unbelievers brothers or sisters. He also says they are in Christ. He never says that about people who are unsaved. We know he's talking to people who are born again. His readers have believed in Jesus for the free gift of everlasting life. However, Paul has some spiritual growth concerns for them. 

They haven't progressed beyond being babies in Christ. Imagine how embarrassed an otherwise normal person ought to be if they were to reach adulthood but refused potty training, solid food, or walking upright. I have a friend who says that the best decision he ever made was when he stopped pooping his pants as a child. How rewarding (and less smelly) life is because we have left our childish ways behind. Now translate that to spiritual terms. Paul's readers are not following a healthy spiritual growth curve. Instead, their spiritual growth has stalled out and they need to stop being babies. 

Being spiritual babies won’t keep anyone out of Heaven, but it will affect the amount of eternal reward received on arrival. A few verses later, Paul says that those who grow will receive a reward (vs. 14), but those who remain spiritual babies will suffer loss. (vs. 15)

Thankfully, there are believers who experience a different growth curve entirely. 

As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby. (1 Peter 2:2 )

A saved person can remain a spiritual baby, or they can take in God's word, like pure milk, and grow. As we compare these two verses from Paul and Peter, we can see that growth isn't automatic. There was a one-time requirement for becoming born again. However, there is an ongoing requirement if a person wants to grow. It's a continuous focus on God's word and obedience to it that determines whether you’ll stay a baby or not. 

In the same way that you can't go back and erase your first birthday, a person who believes in Jesus for the free gift of eternal life can never undo their spiritual birth no matter what happens. Once born, always born. Even if a person remains a spiritual baby for the rest of their mortal life, that does not jeopardize their birth status. However, the last thing anyone wants is for a believer to remain a spiritual infant. The Bible, your church, and other believers who love you are all rooting for you to grow. 

I suppose I should not leave you wondering about the status of our son Leo. At his two-week check-up, we found out he does not have the genetic disease. As an added bonus, he is right in line with a healthy growth curve. It looks like he has a bright future ahead. His mother and I will never question whether he's been born because that day has come and gone. However, we will continue to focus on his healthy growth, both physical and spiritual, for the rest of our lives. 

Have you believed in Jesus for everlasting life? If so, you never have to question your salvation again. Although, if you have believed in Jesus, it’s time you consider this second eternal distinction: are you a spiritual baby, or are you growing? 

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¹ Unless otherwise indicated all following references will be from NKJV.