3157. 'Now if you are going to show mercy and truth to my master' means investigation of their consent by both mental powers - will and understanding. This is clear from the meaning of 'mercy' as that which is the essence of good or love, dealt with in 3063, 3073, 3120, and from the meaning of 'truth' as that which is the essence of truth or faith, dealt with in 3121, 3122. Now since the good of love belongs properly to the will, and the truth of faith properly to the understanding, and since the words here - which speak of showing mercy and truth - are addressed to Laban and Bethuel, and so to ordinary human beings, those words mean the things which proceed from both mental powers, from both the will and the understanding. The fact that it is investigation of the consent is evident both from the words used here ('if you are going to show') and the words that follow ('tell me; and if not, tell me, and I will look to the right or to the left').

[2] In human regeneration, which is an image of the Lord's glorification, 3138, the truth of faith may indeed be learned, but it is not acknowledged, still less accepted by good, until consent flows from both mental powers - from the will and from the understanding. Consent is acknowledgement itself. Through that acknowledgement acceptance takes place, especially by the will, for there good resides. And when the truth of faith has been accepted by the will, or what amounts to the same, by good, a person is regenerate, for in his case truth is grounded in good, and faith is grounded in charity; that is, as regards life, truth is charity itself, 3121.

In a general sense, being "born" in the Bible represents one spiritual state producing another, usually some form of love or affection producing or "giving birth" to truth or to desires for good. This is not hard to see: If you love someone, that love naturally gives birth to ideas on how to be good to that person and make him or her happy. This is why sons and daughters in the Bible represent true ideas and desires for good. On a higher level, though, being born represents what the Writings call "regeneration," or the life-long process of putting off our natural thoughts and desires and embracing spiritual life from the Lord. This is what the Bible means when it talks about being "born again" – if we live our lives from the Lord, He will eventually take away our evil desires so that we can be "born" as angels in heaven, free of evil desires and dark thoughts. Of course, these two levels of meaning are really one: The Lord is love itself, and if we align with Him we become forms of love and truth ourselves, expressions of His love just as the desire to do something good might be the expression of your love for a friend.