The Apostle Paul - “Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” (1 Corinthians 2:13-14)
We learn from the Bible that some people live natural lives that are summed up by their natural births. First of all, a natural person has only been born into the natural world. This means that they came into this world through physical birth, but they’ve never experienced a spiritual birth. In other words, they’ve never been spiritually born again. A person who has never been born again may have received many admirable traits through their natural birth. They may be witty, charming, cultured, moral, educated, and even religious. But having been born only once, they are spiritually dead. A person who is spiritually dead has no personal relationship with Jesus, no ability to understand and appreciate spiritual things, and no supernatural peace, joy, and purpose. This deadness to spiritual things that we inherited from Adam does not mean that every person is outwardly vile or inwardly cruel, but it does mean they are in bondage to their own desires and to Satan.
Secondly, a natural person is blind to the spiritual world. The Apostle Paul writes, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) This doesn’t mean that the natural person will not participate or even enjoy religious services or worship music, but it does mean they do not fully welcome the Word of God and the Spirit of God into their souls. The natural person has little appreciation for spiritual things and little comprehension of spiritual things.
Finally, a natural person is bound to the material world. Jesus once said, “The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things.” (Mark 4:18) Jesus meant that a natural person lives for the same things an animal lives for - self-gratification, self-preservation, and self-propagation. They cannot rise above the materialistic and animalistic level of living without the miracle of spiritual birth from above.
Followup Activity - In your journal or on a piece of paper, write out a prayer to the Lord, asking Him to help you live a life greater than the basic natural life described in the devotion above. If you are leading your family through this devotion, dialogue with them about what it means to live a natural life and then ask each member to write a prayer similar to the one described above.
Prayer for Today - Lord, please help me to live, not as those in the natural world, but as those who have been born again in and through You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.