❓ The Paradox of Death and New Birth ❓ The human mind confined to the body—the carnal mind—asks: The Lord was born, died on the cross, and rose alive... So why must we die with Him to be born again? Why did birth precede the cross, while in our renewal, death precedes birth? The answer is easy for those who realize that the greatest thing facing humanity is death, and death is the cause of all our sins. Because of death, we try to defend our mortal lives and attempt to make them immortal, but in the end, we fail and die. Also, we start from where the Lord ended; we begin with His life-giving death and resurrection so that the birth of the Lord may then enter our lives. We start from where we are—death—and thus we enter directly into the mystery of the cross and resurrection to find the mystery of the Lord's birth, the reason for His birth from the Holy Spirit. The Lord said to the disciples: "You who have followed Me in the regeneration will sit on thrones," meaning we will receive the same glory that judged and condemned the old glory, the fading glory of Israel before the glory of Christ, the true King. Thus, Christ gathers His death and resurrection and transforms them into a new birth for humanity. In truth, if we contemplate the Lord's death on the cross, we realize that this death is no different from His birth from the Virgin Theotokos except that it was a direct confrontation with the death of Adam. #DeathAndResurrection #NewBirth #Paradox #Cross #Regeneration #Incarnation