Our church is focusing on worship this month & last night I shared a lesson "For the Kids" & tho' t to post a slightly edited version here...
& asked Strike if she had any ideas b/c often I share something we’ve learned together - & she suggested butterflies too. Then I remembered I should focus this talk on worship - & figured I should probably go in a different direction.
The Greek word for “transformed” is MetamorphoĊ - to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure. From it we get metamorphosis & we tend to think of caterpillars & butterflies! So I sensed that three times the Holy Spirit nudged me to talk about butterflies… so butterflies it is….
I bro't some butterflies tonight. W/ the understanding that God has revealed Himself to us both in His Word & creation, I’ve learned to try to figure out what God might have been wanting us to better understand when he created certain things – & I really think we can better understand God – what He’s like & what He wants us to be like – by studying butterflies.
| I have a story. You may have heard it. It may seem I’m getting off track but stay w/ me & I’ll try to tie it all together at the end. As the story goes…A man found a chrysalis. One day a small opening appeared. He watched the butterfly for hours as it struggled to force its body through it before it seemed it could go no further. Finally the man decided to help – so - he cut the chrysalis to allow the butterfly to emerge easily, which it did. And the man continued to watch. He expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge & expand to support the body, which would contract in time, but neither happened - & in fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body & shriveled wings - & never was able to fly. |
The transformation caterpillars undergo while in the chrysalis is amazing. When they come out they’re so very different from how they used to be.
Christians kinda metamorph too. When we confess & repent of our sin & accept Jesus as our Savior, we’re instantly changed from eternally dying to eternally living & that’s no doubt an amazing transformation! And - once we’re saved, we should then become more like Christ - which can be a long - & at times, a difficult process.
Think about this - when the man tried to help by cutting the chrysallis, he did free the butterfly - technically - but it was crippled for the rest of its life – which was likely cut shorter than it was intended to be - & most, if not all, the butterfly’s time from then on was likely spent focused on itself - out of necessity - as it struggled just to survive - b/c God’s way had not been followed.
According to God’s perfect plan, the butterfly had to go through that struggle - to the end - in order to become & do all that God intended - & to beautifully display His splendor as it enjoyed true freedom, the way God intended.
Taking it a step further
We can offer our bodies as sacrifices, holy & pleasing to God by praying w/ someone,singing praises, sharing the Gospel, giving money or food to the needy, helping someone help themselves, or doing work for one who is unable to do it. These all involve using our bodies & some sort of sacrifice - but - did you ever consider some of these things to be worship?
It’s true - worship often involves sacrifice – but often it involves sacrificing what God has generously blessed us w/ to begin w/. When, in obedience, we use anything He’s given us - our talents, abilities, energy, money, time, etc., to serve others in His name & w/ a grateful heart, that’s worship! And often we’re blessed in return in ways that are so satisfying - much like when the butterfly, in time, becomes what it was meant to be & does what God created it to do for the flowers, & in turn the flowers feed the butterfly. They enjoy a special relationship & both elegantly display God’s splendor b/c this is their way of life – which I think is what this kind of worship is meant to be … not just something we do on Sundays - but rather as a way of life – much like dieting or exercising are sacrifices people make that need to be consistent in order to enjoy the full benefit.
And - just as the butterfly must struggle first - to be & do all that God intended - sometimes God allows us to endure certain things to help us become more like Him & so to prepare us to be & do what he has planned for us. When a person has been thru’ something really difficult, sometimes they just want to put it behind them & try to forget it ever happened, but when they use what God taught them thru’ it all, they’re able to help certain people that many others might have no idea how to help. By doing that in Jesus’ name &/or for His sake, that’s worship too!
Butterflies are a rare sight this time of year – so I’m giving you each a pretend one – to place wherever you’ll see it - m/b on your Christmas tree for a while. I hope it will serve as a reminder of how beautifully butterflies illustrate Romans 12:1-2
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