Butterfly or Caterpillar?

I had the chance to do some traveling this summer, and it really opened my eyes to a few ideas that I have never paid much attention to. Something that has especially been pressed on my heart is the idea of transformation. You see in the scripture that we should live transformed once we know Christ, and you hear countless sermons on the concept of living transformed lives. Especially after camps and conferences, you hear numerous stories of students testifying that their lives have forever been transformed.

But I have to ask, are we throwing this word around and misusing what it really means to be transformed? I had the privilege of going to a tribal village in Orissa, India this summer and, it was here this concept really clicked in my mind. This small village consisted of four families who had been devout Hindus for generations. One night, from the jungles that surrounded their village, an elephant came and trampled their homes. In the midst of their turmoil, a Christian field worker went down to help and share the gospel with them. Long story short, all of these families found Christ and before rebuilding their homes, they built a place to worship God. I was truly blown away and when I asked the people there why they built the church first, one of the children replied with, “it is the least we could do after everything God did for us. He allowed us to live one more day; all we can do is worship Him.” I was in awe of their selflessness and ashamed of my twisted idea of ministry. The people they have become cannot be recognized by those who knew them before. These families were the greatest example of what it meant to live transformed lives.

Think about this; when a caterpillar is born, it is not the best looking, it is not really desired by many, it is extremely restricted, and quite honestly, its life seems a bit pointless. As the caterpillar matures, it eventually gains enough strength to build itself a cocoon, and later, it turns into this beautiful creature known as the butterfly. Do you think that right upon coming out of the cocoon, the butterfly feels safe and secure in its new form? I think not. I can imagine it must feel a sense of fear and unease because of this drastic change. If one was to put a caterpillar next to a butterfly and not know the process, they would never say they are one in the same. I think we can learn a great lesson from the life cycle of this caterpillar and perceive a new understanding on the word transformation. Have you ever seen a butterfly, after going through metamorphosis, act like a caterpillar? I sure have not. That would be absurd! Why would a butterfly with all the freedoms in the world live bound like a caterpillar? Sadly, many of today’s “believers” live the same way they did before they found Christ. They are still bound to the same sins, same worries and same fears. Many are too scared to leave their areas of comfort and trust in Christ causing them to never really live as Christ intended for us to live.

When we say we are truly transformed but then not live as if we are, the only change that has occurred is a change of appearance. We may dress and act the part right, but when it comes down to it we are still the same unbeliever we were before. It’s sad to think of the freedom Christ has promised us and yet we continually stay bound to our flesh. It is really easy to dress transformed but living it out is what really matters. So I have to ask, are you still a bound caterpillar or are you living as a transformed butterfly?

OneAmongMany

Don’t Judge a book by its cover

I know it’s been awhile but school’s just been a bit much, but nonetheless I’ve had a lot on my mind and hopefully I’ll be able to share over the next few weeks with you whats been going on in my head. I’ve recently been catching up with some old friends and have found this very disturbing reality among more than one of them. Many of them have quit trying to straighten out their lives because it seems as if everyone has thrown them to the curb and tagged them “unclean.” When I think of these individuals and the immense potential bottled up inside of them, waiting to just explode it kills me to think that it is because of “Christians” opinions that they have given up. It really tore me up and made me ask when did we start limiting who God can use? We have suddenly prepared a generalization of who God should use and if they do not fit these stereotypes they must not be “minister” material. I wonder what would have happened if we had been alive during biblical times; would we have been the ones to have condemned Christ? Christ was the son of an ordinary carpenter, he didn't come from a background of prophets and outstanding citizens. What made him qualified to be a minister let alone the Son of God? What about Moses? Would we have laughed when he came and said he would bring us out of Egypt, which probably would have taken 10 minutes because of his inability to properly communicate? I can go on and on throughout the bible because it is filled cover to cover of the least qualified being the one’s to make a difference. Be very careful of who you begin to kill with your words because you never know who is called to be the next David, Jacob, or Paul.

Think about this, when you decide to renovate part of your house, you begin with a layout and blueprint of what the room will look like. The construction company then comes and they begin to work, the first step is the breakdown. This is the most important process because it is in this process they get rid of the old and make room for this new beautiful plan you have in your head. It is also the dirtiest; there is trash, dust and debris everywhere. If someone was to come visit at this point and not know you are renovating they would very easily say that this house was not much of a house. What they don’t know is the plans you have drawn out for the room and what you are preparing for it to look like. This is often the process many members of our churches and youth groups are going through and all many people know how to do is say that “they aren’t much of a Christian at all.” What we don’t see is the plan God has set up for their lives, he has a beautiful room in the process of being renovated. Sure it may not be the nicest right now but once the construction phase is over and the room has been finalized no one will deny the beauty of this room. People will now be asking to come visit, to see this masterpiece when before they had simply declared it worthless. If we as Christians would allow God to do what he needs to in the lives of these individuals we would be able to see the beauty of what God has planned out.

Check out this verse

“27But(A) God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;(B) God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;”

It’s not always about who can look the part the best, and act the part the best. Because when it’s the weak people cannot credit them for what has happened; only God could have done something so spectacular through someone so unqualified.

OnEaMoNgMaNy