I was thinking about the process that the caterpillar goes through in order to transform into a butterfly. I admit that what I remember learning is quite elementary. That at a minimal, the caterpillar goes into somewhat of a hibernation stage and the end result is that it comes out of its cocoon as a beautiful butterfly. But as I looked just a bit further into the process, it parallels so well with What It Means to Become More Like Christ.
The caterpillar must die to become a butterfly.
Per SCIENCING: “The transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly takes place in the chrysalis or pupa. Butterflies goes through a life cycle of five stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Inside the chrysalis, several things are happening and it is not a “resting” stage.
The caterpillar’s old body dies inside the chrysalis and a new body with beautiful wings appears after a couple of weeks.”
After reading about the metamorphosis of a caterpillar, I couldn’t help but thing how similar it sounds to be that of the life of a believer.
Because in Christ, we die to self and become alive in Him.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
“Behold, I will do a new things; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 (KJV)
Dying to self.
I am finding this stage to be ever so challenging. As you can imagine and maybe even attest to.
I know that as we continue in God that we go from glory to glory and that we are being changed into being more like Him. But I have felt that most things that I have read have left out “the grieving process” of it all.
The losing of your old self to gain your truest self, at some points can be down right excruciating.
Because “No one enjoys pain, and when it comes we want it relieved as quickly as possible. Even the apostle Paul pleaded with God three times to take away the thorn in his flesh before he finally found God’s grace to be sufficient.
Joseph pleaded with a Pharoah’s cupbearer to “get me out of this prison” (Gen 40:14). And the writer of Hebrews very honestly state, “no disciples seems pleasant at the time, but painful” (Heb 12:11) (Bridges, Trusting God, 16)?”
And it makes me wonder.
Does the butterfly look back and grieve that it used to be a larva? And does it look back and wish that it was back in it’s cocoon. Does it detest the time that it took to transform into what would be known as one of God’s most beautiful creations? And does it look back an despise its Creator?
I think not. So why do we?
Why do we grieve the process that God brings us through in order to bring us to who He is transforming us in to?
Could it be that we grieve often because we are too attached to a world that was never intended to be our home.
As children of God, we are citizens of Heaven.
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:20-21 NIV
But only until we recognize this and fully embrace all that it holds and means, as well as its implications, can we really live and breathe and walk out a life laid down for Christ.
This is what it means to be like Jesus.
Laying down our life for His sake. For His Kingdom.
“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” John 12:24 (ESV)
“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Galatians 5:24 (ESV)
This is what it means to become more like Christ.
