While in Shenandoah National Park, we saw a couple of caterpillars and a lot of butterflies!
Would you believe I once filled an entire dresser drawer with caterpillars? I did! Unfortunately, Momma discovered them. My plan was to feed them azalea leaves until they became pupae (chrysalis). Then they would become butterflies and flutter out into my room when I opened the drawer. Cool idea, right?!
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the differences in the caterpillars and butterflies since we took our day trips. The caterpillars were working hard to climb those stems; using all their legs. Meanwhile, the butterflies were flitting from place to place, and able to easily evade anything trying to harm or devour them.
That had me thinking. Those caterpillars were always meant to be butterflies. They weren’t created to be eggs, larvae (caterpillars), or pupae (chrysalis). Nope! They were always meant to become butterflies!
Just like people were always meant to be in relationship with God and live with His indwelling Holy Spirit power. That was God’s plan for us from the very beginning. He never meant for us to live apart from Him; struggling to live in our own strength.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (ESV)
“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” John 1:12-13 (NLT)
Unlike the caterpillar, which has no choice in it’s life stages, we are given the freedom to choose whether or not we will be in relationship with God. Jesus is the way of salvation from eternal separation from God, and He is also the way for us to live transformed lives (John 14:6 and 2nd Corinthians 5:17). We can choose to live the life we were created to live by just asking Jesus to make it happen (Romans 10:13).
How about you? How have you changed since becoming a Christ-follower? Were there challenges from within yourself or others? What are the benefits of those changes?
