Christian Living
“Come cocoon with Me.”, I heard God say as I sat down at my laptop. He asked me to remember the caterpillar’s transformation process. So, while I typed, the Lord revealed that the way He changes me is similar to the way of the caterpillar.
The caterpillar lives like the others until the urge for new life begins. The Creator whispers the way the change must come. Patiently, the Creator waits. The little caterpillar is troubled, but still decides to trust the Creator’s judgment. In the beginning, the caterpillar does not “seem” to change much, but it is hidden deep within. The seasons around him only make him more determined to eat what God provided. The caterpillar is fruitful as he starts to understand his new purpose and destiny. Then, excitement hits and all his energies go to becoming the beautiful creature His Creator has envisioned.
We live as the others until we decide to accept the challenge to become like Christ. Unrest stirs inside because God wants to reveal our new purpose and destiny. We are cautious, but steadfast faith in the Father takes over. Carefree, we study God’s word. Understanding and faith grow as God’s love and grace work to guide us to holiness. The fruit of our new determination to seek the Kingdom of God above all will be visible in time.
Now, the caterpillar continues to eat while he basks in the sunlight with the others. All seems well until he is not little any more and a storm brews over head. Nothing seems right. “What’s wrong?” the caterpillar wonders. He feels the urge to shelter himself. “God, HELP ME!” he cries until he feels safe inside the cocoon.
We study God’s word while basking in the Son’s light with other believers. We are content until unexpected circumstances arrive. Our life seems to take a nose dive. “Why me?” we ask before we pray, “HELP!” When the storm comes, we learn to continue to stand firm in God’s presence through prayer and in the authority of His wisdom found in His word. Only then, can God continue to shelter our mind with peace and protect our destiny. Prayer and the wisdom will insure our safety through any storm.
The most crucial part is the change made in the caterpillar while he is inside the cocoon. The cocoon’s temperature becomes very hot in order to make something brand new. “This will take some time and patience”, whispers the Creator who oversees every detail. Finally, when everything is liquefied inside, the Creator begins and continues the work until a new creature is formed. Patience is difficult to master because this is the most challenging part of the process. However, through perseverance, the greatest victory is won, too. Genuine hope and faith have been developed to the point that no one would recognize him now. Then, joy overflowed inside because the end was finally near. Sadly, the new creature was not allowed to view the final stage just yet.
The most crucial stage for us is when we sincerely decide we need to die to self to become like Christ. Time and patience are essential to rid ourselves of all our stubbornness. God insists that with trust in Him, the change can and will be completed. He assures us that He will bring only those trials and tests that are necessary to complete the change. Continually, we are at peace in the process, if we seek His wisdom and not our own. Eventually, we begin to sense something new in our soul. God has been considering all before He could give us a glimpse of the new creation. Joy and gratitude flooded the inside of us as we realized that the new hope and faith was genuine. Soon, at the right time, God would whisper that we were ready for the promotion.
Suddenly, the Creator whispers, “Well done! Now you can fly!” So, the new creature eats an opening in the cocoon large enough to leave. Gently, he begins to spread his large colorful wings and admires his new found beauty. Suddenly, the wind comes to catch him for his first flight as a butterfly. I can fly! He shouts. The Creator was blessed by the butterfly’s joy but still decided to give him a word of caution, “Never ever stray beyond the One who has given you new life.” The proud butterfly paused to ponder those words. Then, the command came to “Go!” so, the beautiful butterfly set out to find his new place of destiny.
Our final stage arrives when God whispers, “Well done my good and faithful servant. Come into the reward I have laid out for you.” We smile as we learn that our past will be used to help Him minister to others soon. Then patiently, God gives us His words of caution, “Never ever wander away from Me”. We ponder those words of love and pledge loyalty to remember the caution. Then...our opportunity arrives and we venture out to seek our new place of destiny.
Cocooning with the Father? The Father is asking for my pledge to continue the transformation that we have already started together. His desire is for even greater intimacy in our relationship, so that He can protect me from the harshness of any circumstances to come. If I will pledge to deepen my intimacy with Him, then I will be accomplishing His heart’s desire to be as one with me. In essence, He wants me to picture us as deeply in love with each other and comfortable with the closeness of the dance. We can not take our eyes off each other. Therefore, we hardly notice anything going on around us.
Suddenly, I realize that we were made for each other and I could not bear for anything to come between us. Finally, Jesus is able to assume the lead in this dance called ‘Life’ and I am finally content to just be in His arms with out stepping on his toes.
WOW! What a proposal! He is asking me to be a part of the “Bride of Christ”. He wants to make sure that my wedding gown is perfect. I would be a fool to pass up this opportunity. Oh, what a catch!
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