One night, under cover of darkness, a high-ranking citizen of Jerusalem came to the house where an itinerant teacher lodged. He wished to probe deeper into the new interpretation of life that the teacher, Christ Jesus, was expounding and demonstrating.

"Rabbi," he said, "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." Jesus answered: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Accustomed to thinking of man in terms of flesh and blood, the visitor was completely mystified. "How can a man be born when he is old?" he asked. Jesus explained: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." ^{John 3:2-4, 6;}

The signs that attracted Nicodemus and impelled him to visit Jesus were the healing of the sick and sinful, of the blind, deaf, dumb, and deformed, and the raising of the dead. These appeared to him as miracles. From the mortal standpoint such healings would require divine intervention, and interruption of the normal order. But they were evidence of man's true being, proof of the omnipresence and omnipotence of the kingdom of God, the realm of divine Spirit, where fleshly conditions are nonexistent.

To be thus born again is to experience the harmonious conditions of the kingdom of God. In human terms this appears as the healing, through spiritual means, of sin and disease and the correction of discordant conditions. Unlike our fleshly entry into the world, birth into the realm of Spirit demands conscious effort on our part. As Jesus expressed it, it is knowing the truth that sets us free ^{See John 8:32;} —free from the belief of life in matter and awake to the truth of immortal being, life in and of Spirit, as Christian Science demonstrates.

How do we begin this rebirth—this spiritual regeneration? In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy writes, "To grasp the reality and order of being in its Science, you must begin by reckoning God as the divine Principle of all that really is." ^{Science and Health, p. 275;}

All there really is of us, our true identity, springs from God, Spirit, divine Principle, the source of all life. If we earnestly desire to know who we really are, we will be willing to part with the mortal concept of man as beginning in the flesh. Whether our fleshly lineage is something to boast of or something we would rather not talk about, or a mixture of both, it is not our real beginning.

We are never too young or too old to learn of our true identity. The child, eagerly asking the how and why and whither of his place in the world, can be taught to distinguish between that which is flesh and that which has its source in Spirit, as Jesus taught, and consciously to understand that man is spiritual, not material. His elders, who may reflect on past family history and feel incapable of contributing anything more of value, can find a new invigorating occupation in discovering their spiritual background and origin. If we begin, as Jesus did, with "Our Father," Spirit, the source of all true being, we can discover our real genealogy and find a bond of fellowship that includes the universal spiritual family of man.

It may come as a pleasant surprise to many to learn that advancing years can be years of progress, replacing the fleshly beliefs of decline and death. "Every human thought must turn instinctively to the divine Mind as its sole centre and intelligence," ^{Miscellaneous Writings,pp. 307-308;} writes Mrs. Eddy. She also says, "He advances most in divine Science who meditates most on infinite spiritual substance and intelligence." ^{ibid., p. 309;}

Jesus spoke of himself as the light of the world ^{See John 8:12;} because he knew where he came from, and he said to all who accepted the same origin: "Ye are the light of the world." ^{Matt. 5:14;} He earnestly entreated his followers to let their light so shine in the world that it would illumine the thought of mankind and reveal and glorify the universal Father. What could be more unifying, pacifying, and edifying in the world today than the revelation and demonstration of our common brotherhood in our Father-Mother God?

As we walk in this light, we become increasingly aware of our purpose in life. We are here not to be served but to serve, not to get but to give. Coming from God, the giver of all good, we already have, in reality, all that we need. Jesus proved this when he fed multitudes and met his obligation to the tax collectors. ^{See Matt. 16:9, 10; 17:27;}

Every day, as we carry the light of true being into our environment, we share with others a measure of what Jesus gave the world so abundantly—an insight into the kingdom of God. It may be only glimpses that we are able to see and give. But as an old saying has it, one can see a large field through a chink in the fence!

As we daily study them, the Bible and Science and Health replenish our lamps with the inspiration of truth and love the world needs. The world is not the real source of our incoming supply. That source is God, and our true resources spring from this fountainhead. "All my springs are in thee." ^{Ps. 87:7.}