Restarts are crucial to life. They're certainly fundamental to farming. Plowing and planting every spring is the only way to expect a continual harvest. Computers, machines and all kinds of systems also demand restarts.

The same goes for people. We need moments when our scoreboards get turned back to 0-0. That's when fresh hope for the future begins.

For us, restarts happen when we come to our senses and see that something is missing, that what we're doing is just not working. It makes us look for a restart button – another way, a better way to go. Finding the right restart becomes crucial.

Jesus has powerful things to say about restarts. Perhaps His best lines are found in John 3. That little chapter is loaded with crucial lines. Let's note what's there.

• Jesus says we all need a righteousness restart, a second birth. He calls it being “born again.” Trying to produce our own righteousness before God won't ever work. God's not impressed with our brand, even at its best. (v3)

• If there's no second birth, there's no seeing or entering the kingdom of God. A second birth is that crucial. We can never experience heaven without a second birth in this life. The finest forever reality could escape us. (v3-5)

• A second birth is a birth of the Spirit, not the womb. It's metaphysical, not physical. (v5) “Spirit gives birth to spirit.” That means God's Spirit convicts us of the need for a holy restart and births a Jesus Spirit in our hearts. (v6)

• The second birth is an invisible, spiritual one, but as real as the wind. (v6-8)

• God “gives the Spirit without limit.” That means Jesus keeps restarting us in paths of righteousness, moving us on toward maturity in Him. What a gift! (v34)

Reflect: Is there any area of your life requiring a crucial restart right now? Have you been born again? Are you confident you'll see and enter the kingdom of God because Jesus is your complete atonement, covering you with His righteousness?

A prayer to consider: LORD, thank You for providing a righteous restart for me. What initiative You took! I desperately needed it, and I'm awestruck by Your love. I'm born again!

Help me to keep pursuing maturity beyond my second birth. Keep restarting me so that I can become like Jesus. For Your glory and my joy, Amen.