A Baby Born Twice

“Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” [John 3:3]

When Chad and Keri McCartney say their infant daughter, Macie Hope, has been born again, they aren’t referring to religion—their miracle baby really was born twice! During Keri’s 23rd week of pregnancy, the couple went to their obstetrician’s office for a simple ultrasound procedure to determine if they would be having a little boy or girl. The couple brought their four children along to hear the good news.

At that time it was discovered that the McCartney’s baby girl had a noncancerous but deadly tumor growing off her tailbone. The fastgrowing tumor, as large as the baby, was robbing vital blood from their baby. Without medical intervention their unborn child had no chance. The Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston was one of only three hospitals in the world that could perform such a specialized and risky surgery. After being told that there was less than a 10 percent chance the baby was going to make it, the parents wanted to pick a fitting name before the perilous procedure. They chose Macie Hope. Faced with a dismal future, Keri said, “Hope was all we had.”

The “first birth” was about six months into Keri’s pregnancy, when fetal surgeons led by Dr. Darrell Cass gently took the tiny 5-ounce baby from Keri’s womb to remove the tumor. The surgery went flawlessly. Then back into mommy she went to heal and grow for two more months. Then Macie was born the second time on May 3, 2008, when the McCartney’s welcomed their perfectly healthy baby girl into the world.

Did you know the Bible teaches that if you are only born once you will die twice? But if you are born twice you will die only once? While explaining the plan of salvation to one of Israel’s most gifted teachers, Jesus plainly outlined for Nicodemus what must happen: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3). Nicodemus seems confused and says, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (v. 4). Though baby Macie did just that, Jesus was speaking of the miracle of salvation in the heart. The spiritual birth, marked by baptism in water, symbolizes a new life in Christ. This second birth does not happen under a surgeon’s knife, but through the work of the Holy Spirit.