Butterflies

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” –John 3:3 NKJV

I doubt that Nicodemus was the only one perplexed by this statement that Jesus made.  Jesus often used things of this world to bring us understanding of heavenly truths.

In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

In John 12:25 He says, “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

Jesus wasn’t always straight forward in His messages.  The Bible sites many instances of the disciples looking at one another in utter confusion saying, “what does He mean?”  Like any treasure, it takes some mining to get to the truth of His words. 

This world is full of lies, distorted realities, and counterfeit treasures.  That isn’t by chance, it is intentionally constructed by a kingdom of darkness to hide Truth.  In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”.  Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And you will search for Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

I have found one such treasure in my search for Truth and it has become my foundation.  Everything that I am meant to be begins with this:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  – Galatians 2:20 NKJV

We are born after an image of a fallen being, separated from the One who created us.  We are born into a world that is in every way a forgery of the Kingdom we were created to inherit.  Rebellion against God at multiple levels has brought death and decay to all that He has created.  But Jesus left us a key.  “Forsake the world, and follow Me.”

Everything we know, think, feel, and perceive has been taught to us.  Observation, experiences, traumatic events and make-believe fairy tales.  Life presents us with quite an array of experiences that we draw from and conclude what we believe to be truth and reality.  The problem with that is that what I conclude to be truth and reality may be very different from what you conclude to be truth and reality because our conclusions come from different experiences.  So how can either one be truth or reality?  Is it possible to have “my truth” and “your truth” coexist even if they oppose one another?  Hmmm.  Seems like the world has been trying that, I don’t think it’s working out too well. 

“For the wickedness of humanity deliberately smothers the truth and keeps people from acknowledging the truth about God.  In reality, the truth of God is known instinctively, for God has embedded this knowledge inside every human heart.” – Romans 1:18-19 TPT

No, there is only ONE Truth.  ONE reality.  Everything else is a distortion, just grass that will wither away.  So, what do we do with our core beliefs, our values, our mindsets, who we are?  As a matter of fact, who are we?  Have you ever said something like, “everything I’ve been through in life has made me who I am today”?  Well, what if God had something better in mind for you?  What if God said, “I want you to forget everything you think, know, and believe.  I want you to lay aside all your dreams, expectations, and goals for your life, relationships, all your tomorrows.  I want you to strip off every bit of identity you think belongs to you and lay all of this at my feet.”

I found out that to be reborn you first must die.  My personal experience with this was spurred on by a 30-day TV fast that I was doing.  During that time, there were a lot of opinions, ideas, theologies, prophesies, arguments, and political statements being broadcast. None of it made sense, it was all noise. I spent a lot of concentrated time in my garage soaking up scripture and God began to show me just how much of myself had been formed by the world.  I saw how contradictory I was to God.  And His Spirit of conviction compelled me to put it all to death.

At the end of it I felt like a blank canvas.  Completely stripped of everything that I had claimed to be.  I had no idea what I wanted, who I was, or what to do next.  And you know what?  That was exactly what God wanted.  A blank canvas with no ideas, no opinions, no judgements, and no facades.  Because it had all come from the world anyway.  It was skewing my vision and distorting truth.  I couldn’t see myself, God, or anything rightly.  But now, He could pick up His brush and begin to paint His image in me.

My knowledge of butterflies at this point was very elementary.  A caterpillar goes into a cocoon and comes out a butterfly through some process called metamorphosis.  Oh, but God is far more deliberate and calculated than that. When I began to do a little bit of research I found a magnificent treasure of Truth, hidden in plain sight.

A caterpillar begins a 12-legged larva hatched from an egg, that feeds on leaves.  It has the capacity to grow up to a hundred times its original size.  It is born with tiny disc-shaped bags of cells called imaginal discs that contain butterfly body essentials (antennae, eyes, wings, etc.) but they are suppressed by something called a juvenile hormone, delaying metamorphosis.

As the larva outgrow their current skin, a hormone called ecdysone is released in conjunction with the juvenile hormone causing the caterpillar to molt, or “shed”.  After molting about five times the caterpillar hangs upside down from a twig or leaf and either spins a cocoon or molts into a shiny chrysalis.  This is known as the pupation cycle.  Here, the juvenile hormone is suppressed, and the release of the ecdysone hormone triggers metamorphosis; the miracle of transformation to begin.

Cells in the larva’s muscles, gut, and salivary glands are digested, programmed to self-destruct through the activation of enzymes called caspases.  Were it not for the juvenile hormone, this self-destruction could have happened at any time, killing the caterpillar. Instead, God coded the hormone to lower its levels at the ideal moment for when the larva is safe within the cocoon.  The caterpillar disintegrates all its tissues except for the imaginal discs, which use the protein-rich liquid from the digested cells to fuel the rapid cell division required to form the wings, antennae, legs, eyes, and all the other features of an adult butterfly or moth. The imaginal disc for wings might begin with only 50 cells and increase to more than 50,000 cells by the end of metamorphosis.

When the transformation is complete the butterfly must now break through the cocoon to obtain ultimate freedom.  To do this it pushes against the walls of the cocoon with its wings.  This does not happen right away, but through consistent pushing.  If it gives up, it dies in the cocoon.  But if it persists, the push strengthens the wings so that it can fly when it breaks free.  Without strong wings the butterfly would fall to the ground and die.

The process of metamorphosis can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the species of butterfly. During this time, the butterfly is vulnerable to predators and environmental factors that can impede its development. But for those that make it through, the prize is becoming a creature of unparalleled beauty and grace.

“Opposition to truth cannot be excused on the basis of ignorance, because from the creation of the world, the invisible qualities of God’s nature have been made visible, such as His eternal power and transcendence. He has made His wonderful attributes easily perceived, for seeing the visible makes us understand the invisible. So then, this leaves everyone without excuse.” – Romans 1:20 TPT

God left us a blueprint in nature through the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to help us understand the transformation that we are meant to experience when we die to the world and are reborn again unto Christ. It literally dies and is reborn an entirely new creation!

“The body is sown in decay, but will be raised in immortality.  It is sown in humiliation, but will be raised in glorification.  It is sown in weakness but will be raised in power.  Once we carried the likeness of the man of dust, but now let us carry the likeness of the man of heaven.” – 1 Corinthians 15:43-44, 49 TPT

From the shedding of old skin to discarding and literally putting to death its own physical body the caterpillar to butterfly transformation presents a profound picture for scriptures that tell us to “shed”, or “put off” the nature of the flesh and put on the nature of the Christ; that through the discarding of old things we are being made into something new. 

“And He has taught you to let go of the lifestyle of the ancient man, the old self-life, which was corrupted by sinful and deceitful desires that spring from delusions.  Now it’s time to be made new by every revelation that’s been given to you.  And to be transformed as you embrace the glorious Christ–within as your new life and live in union with Him!  For God has recreated you all over again in His perfect righteousness, and you now belong to Him in the realm of true holiness.” -Ephesians 4:22-24 TPT

“So abandon every form of evil, deceit, hypocrisy, feelings of jealousy and slander.” -1 Peter 2:1 TPT

“Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new person.  All that is related to the old order has vanished.  Behold everything is fresh and new.” -2 Corinthians 5:17 TPT

All along, the caterpillar is carrying within it the makings of a butterfly body in these “imaginal discs”, but their development is suppressed until the caterpillar is safe in the cocoon. The proteins from the liquified body of the caterpillar are what generates the development of the body of the butterfly. Isn’t that a profound picture of how God takes what we once were to propel us into what He always intended for us to be? All of our sin and shame and filth and wickedness. All of our pain and sorrow and disappointment. Nothing is ever wasted with God. As we surrender it all at His feet, He uses it as fuel to generate our victory. He takes all that and says, “What the enemy meant for evil, I’m going to use for My glory.” He redeems us and raises us up as warriors to conquer the very things that held us in bondage. And we have a new source of life, and the Spirit of Truth to help us see things as they really are. Including God, ourselves, and others.

“Could it be any clearer that our former identity is now and forever deprived of its power?  For we were co-crucified with Him to dismantle the stronghold of sin within us, so that we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sin’s power.” -Romans 6:6 TPT

“Stop imitating idols and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think.  This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in His eyes.” -Romans 12:2 TPT

“Keep in mind that we who belong to Jesus Christ have already experienced crucifixion.  For everything connected with our self-life was put to death on the cross and crucified with Messiah.  If the Spirit is the source of our life, we must also allow the Spirit to direct every aspect of our lives” -Galatians 5:24-25 TPT

Consider how the caterpillar doesn’t try to become a butterfly.  Nor does it try to remain a caterpillar.  It remains in the cocoon and simply yields and endures the process.  Like the vulnerable insect, we too are prey to an unseen world during our transformation.  A world that seeks to impede our development and keep us from stepping in to the identity we were always meant for.  But if we persist, if we keep on pushing, we too will get our breakthrough and emerge with all the strength, beauty, and victory that we have been promised. Jesus said, “if you remain in me, you will bear much fruit.” -John 15:5 Bearing fruit is a result of us hiding away in the cocoon of Jesus and simply yielding to the process of transformation. It isn’t painless. It is often uncomfortable. But it is necessary. And it is worth it.

“And to the one who conquers I will give the privilege of sitting with me on my throne, just as I conquered and sat down with my Father on His throne.” –Revelation 3:21 TPT

“Beloved, we are God’s children right now; however, it is not yet apparent what we will become. But we do know that when it is finally made visible, we will be just like Him, for we will see Him as He truly is. And all who focus their hope on Him will always be purifying themselves, just as Jesus is pure.” -1 John 3:2-3 TPT

“We can all draw close to Him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into His very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” -2Corinthains 3:18 TPT