Last fall, the girls and I were outside in the front yard enjoying the beautiful colors. Since most everything was turning shades of red, yellow or brown, this big green caterpillar caught our eyes. We had purchased a "bug house" at the beginning of summer because Maddie absolutely loves lightening bugs, so we grabbed it, threw an oak leaf in and carefully stuck "Morris" in his new home so we could learn more about him. I hopped onto Google (my go-to place for info) and found that he was the offspring of a pachysphinx moth and read what food he would want to eat. Michael was on a business trip, so we had a girls' sleep-over (aka sleeping in the living room) and Morris was in his new house on the table. About 3:00am, I heard him moving around and thought he was eating, because that's what he was doing when we found him. It turns out, he was busy all night long creating his cocoon. We waited and waited, hoping he would come out so that we could see the beautiful creation that God intended him to be. He even spent about a month in the hall closet so that he wouldn't be disturbed.
About 2 weeks ago, I took his house out and sat it on the shelf in the kitchen. Knowing that my little sister wouldn't want to see a "bug", I put the little house in my closet before we went on our trip to Arkansas. Today, Maddie was in my closet and grabbed the bug house. Little did we know that Morris had finished his transformation into a moth, and she quickly dropped it on the floor with a little squeal. You see, when he was a chubby little caterpillar, this house had plenty of room, but when he made his decision to start his journey to moth-hood, neither of us realized that staying in what we thought was the perfect place for him would cause him harm. He is a GIANT moth, or as Michael would say, he's a "Mothra". I'd say he's about the size of my hand or bigger but when he started out, he was the size of my index finger.
If we'd left him on his own to do what God intended for him, he would have snuggled up in a tree or bush somewhere, made his cocoon, survived the cold of winter and hatched out with the ability to stretch his wings and gain the strength he needed to fly. But we had other ideas, and now even though he went thru the physical transformation from caterpillar to moth, since he had such a relatively small space to do it in, he doesn't have the stamina to make it in the real world. We took him outside and cut open the netting on the bug house to release him, scooted him out onto the grass and he just fluttered a bit and sat there. All afternoon, we periodically checked on him. I needed to mow, so I moved him over to our big maple tree in the front yard so that he would have a little more camoflauge. As of sunset, he was still there, clinging to the maple, unable to fly because he didn't get to exercise his new-found wings. He is a beautiful moth, just what God made him to be, but I don't think he'll make it very far into his adult life. If he does survive, he will probably just stay in our yard. The big wings that give him his beauty are just a show. He doesn't know how to fly and I doubt he ever will. He was just walking around, exploring the green grass and the bark of the tree. God intended him to soar, and in our rush to "save" him, we ultimately held him back from his life as a healthy moth. Even though we enjoyed seeing him up close and how beautifully made he was, I couldn't help but think of how much we'd robbed him of.
II Corinthians 5:17 tells us "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" What an amazing verse! If we're in Christ, if we have a personal walk, that relationship that He gives, we are new people! Some versions say "new creature" or a "new creation". What better illustration of this verse is there in nature than the caterpillar. He give us the gift of His love and eternal life and makes us new, but we shouldn't just settle for being a new person. We have to build our spiritual strength by studying His Word, prayer, spending time with other Christians and sharing His love with others. We have so many great examples of how He wants us to grow from the New Testament. The men and women in the church who are more spiritually mature have such a great opportunity to share their knowledge with "baby Christians" around them. We shouldn't rely on the Sunday school teacher or pastor to feed us once a week and be able to make it thru the way that God wants us to! He doesn't want us to just survive, His desire is for us to thrive in our relationship with Him! What manner of love is this, that He would call us His sons and daughters. Think about it, the Creator of the universe, the King of kings, Lord of lords and the Saviour of our souls wants to call us His own! I can't even begin to wrap my mind around His goodness and love, yet He calls to me, to you, to everyone who has ever lived..."Accept My love and grace, be transformed and then My child, spread your wings and fly!" He is actively persuing you, wanting you to be transformed by His love and then, instead of just staying in that "new" state, He wants you to grow! He only made one of you, and He wants you to be the best "you" that you can be. Don't just settle for being sealed by His grace my friend, be the you that He intended. Run to Him, when troubles come your way, don't turn away. He is our Abba, our Father and it brings Him joy to see all of His own transforming into beautiful souls, sharing the message of His love and strengthening their earthly wings for eternal Heavenly heights. Oh the joy it must bring Him to see us follow the plan He has for us! On the same note, I know that it must bring sadness to His heart to see His children come to Him for salvation, become "new" and then just sit in their safe place, never growing and stretching themselves so that they can soar to heights never imagined. Also, i you have the opportunity to lead someone to the cross and they accept His grace, I implore you to make sure you're not doing anything to hold them back from maturing in Christ. When in doubt, remember Morris. Encourage growth, with growth comes fruit.
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