Conversion is like being born again

The Lord personally calls to each one of us. Turning to him is called conversion. What is conversion about, and how does it take place? That’s a question of utmost importance in life, because, according to the witness of Scripture and the teaching of the church, without conversion there is no hope of rescue from the human condition of unhappiness, nor is there hope for a life with God.

So radical and thorough is the nature of conversion that it is like being born again. Jesus says to Nicodemus, as recorded in the Gospel according to John (3:5-6): “I solemnly assure you, no one can enter into God’s kingdom without being begotten of water and Spirit. Flesh begets flesh, Spirit begets spirit.”

We could say that conversion is another word for our willingness to turn toward new life, which is what God is always offering us. Indeed, what he so graciously offers is a share in his own divine life!

Conversion takes place at that decisive moment when we are, so to speak, willing to be melted down in order to begin anew. Conversion happens in many different ways and circumstances. It might express itself in our willingness to turn away from a broken life toward the gospel. It might be realized in our commitment to grow more deeply in the divine life that is already within us. It might be realized when, due to some unexpected grace from God, we suddenly experience an inner awakening to thoughts, dreams, and feelings we’ve never had before, and we decide to act on them.

Conversion is not only for sinners. It is for saints. It is the recurring call to let go of what our life has been in the past so as to be free to begin a new life for the future. Conversion is not something we can accomplish on our own. Most of us realize this all too well from having tried to change ourselves without success. Trying to be free, under our own strength and of our own choice, of unwanted desires, of compulsions or inhibitions or some other flaw, brings home quite s quickly and clearly the truth of the frailty and debility of our human condition. It is at such times of failure that we sense most keenly our sense of powerlessness to be anything other than what we are.

So it is that without the initiative of the Holy Spirit within us we would not have the courage or the strength to leave behind our failures or to “melt down” our successes and turn more deeply toward God.

The biblical meaning of conversion implies personal transformation. In the current of daily living there is a subtle tendency to conform ourselves to the patterns of culture. The pressures of advertising and the media invite us to invest in a consumerist view of life and to sell out on the Christian vision. In this sense, conversion is a creative act of resistance. It is an act of not following the crowd, of standing apart and outside the conventional and popularly accepted. St Paul says: “Do not conform yourself to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rm 12:2).

Inner transformation of life can take the form of a radical change of heart, or of a new way of looking at ourselves and our world, or of a major shift in our ethical conduct. These are religious, intellectual, and moral conversions. To be complete, conversion must involve all three: a fundamental change of mind, heart, and behavior.

Is there a pattern to conversion? If we look at the bible and our own life experience, they can best answer the question.

The stories of personal transformation in Scripture can easily leave us with the impression that conversion is a dramatic breakthrough with instantaneous results. Abraham, for example, breaks off all religious and cultural ties with the past and sets out toward an unknown land. Simon and Andrew abandon their father and their fishing nets to become followers of Jesus. Saul of Tarsus is struck from his horse and is transformed from a persecutor of Christians into one of their most ardent apostles.

But conversion is usually not so dramatic or instantaneous, even when it appears so. We can presume that there was a long struggle which led up to the moment of breakthrough. We can also presume that the struggle continues. In other words, conversion is a process — a journey in stages. First there is a time of restless search, next, an inner crisis, and finally, a breakthrough to new life.

What can we do to cooperate with God’s desire to bring about a complete transformation in us, so that we may possess the life he offers us without limits and without end? I’ll take up that question in next week’s column.

Peña is bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville