The Brown Book Commentaries

“Very truly, I tell You, no one can See the Kingdom of God without being born anew … No
one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water & Spirit. What is born of flesh is
flesh, and what is Born of the Spirit is Spirit … The Wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the
sound of it but know not where it comes from nor where it goes. So it is with everyone who is Born
of The Spirit.” ~ Jesus (John 3:3+6+8)
How many times have I heard – indeed, quite proudly – from Christians who profess to have been ―Born
Again,‖ and how many more times have I heard from those same Christians that being ―Born Again‖ is
required for anyone to be allowed into Heaven after death. For these believers, being ―Born Again‖ means that
one has mentally chosen to believe that Jesus is the one & only Son of God, and has then had the hubris to
publicly proclaim his or her absolute allegiance to the same … And to this I say: Fair enough. For it is indeed
possible that such a limited and capricious godhead is in charge from on high; just as it is indeed possible that
He will throw all those who do not appropriately fawn over Him into an eternal pit of fiery torment. I want
nothing at all to do with such an unjust & indeed diabolical deity if He does exists, but exist He very well
might … Of course, where these ―Born Again‖ Christians utterly fail is in claiming that Jesus supports such
immoral nonsense, for – as this passage quite clearly shows – he most certainly did not. Indeed, what Jesus
says here (the only passage in the entire Bible where Jesus speaks to the ―Born Again‖ state of Being) is the
following – A) that we must indeed be ―born anew‖ to ―See‖ the ―Kingdom of God‖ (not to enter it or reside in
it at some point after our death, but to See it in our current life); a Kingdom that – for Jesus at least – existed
internally within each of us (see Luke 17:20-21), and a Kingdom that could be accessed only via selfless acts
of radical Caring & Kindness (see John 13:15-17 & Matthew 24:12-14 et al) … and B) that being ―Born
Again‖ is not some merit badge that we earn with a single epiphany or pin on with a single utterance. It is not
at all a reward that we need earn but once and then carry with us for the rest of our lives. To the contrary,
Jesus makes it quite clear in this passage that becoming ―Born Again‖ is as flowing as the wind; that we must
choose it to experience it in that moment – and then that we must ever choose it again & again & again &
again; that we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven as often as we wish for the rest of our lives, and yet that we
must ever renew our choice of selfless Love – our status of being thus ―Born Anew‖ – in order to do so.
204
―Forgiving the trespasses of your father allows your Vocation to actualize …
Forgiving the failings of your mother allows your true Love to bloom.‖ ~ anonymous
Keep in mind when applying this Truth that truly Forgiving any parent requires much more than
reconciliations merely mental or interactions only verbal. Indeed, truly potent Forgiveness is never a thought
or a feeling or a word – truly transformative Forgiveness is
always a visible verb – a gentle action – a Kind deed. As
such, Forgiving our fathers will only allow our Vocations to
manifest when that Forgiveness becomes that service, and
Forgiving our mothers will only allow our Love to blossom
when that Forgiveness becomes that Love.
―Do Good unto others – period!‖ ~ The Diamond Rule
The Steel Rule comes from the ego, admonishing us to ―do unto others before they one day do unto you‖
… It demands that we shut down our Love – that we defend ourselves – that we punish others eye for eye –
even that we attack those who might one day attack us. As humanity has proven over & again for the past
12,000+ years of its existence, this Rule is fully non-functional – always bringing more violence, more
poverty, more anxiety, and more destruction into our lives … The Golden Rule is actually also from the ego,
tempting us quite cleverly to ―do unto others as you would have them do unto you‖ … On its face this seems
like a fine principle, and yet its focus is ultimately self-centered and its application is ultimately manipulative.
As such, while ―friendliness‖ and ―politeness‖ and ―niceness‖ might ensue therefrom, Love and Harmony and
Peace do not … Indeed, only The Diamond Rule can bring those great Virtues into being, for only The
Diamond Rule has the Humility required to in-Courage us to ―Do GOOD anyway‖ … The Diamond Rule
makes no demands and hold no hopes. It maintains no expectations and requires no commitments. If the other
responds to Love with Love, the same is appreciated fully. And yet if the other responds to Love with
ignorance or rejection or ridicule or even hatred, it doesn‘t matter … No matter the result and no matter the
outcome, those who live by The Diamond Rule know that
Love is enough in & of itself. As such they keep giving
Love anyway, and as a consequence they themselves are
blessed with lives overflowing with the same.