I expect you've read the message at the top of my blog about the symbolism of the butterfly. I wanted to find some way to write about that on my ATC, but there just wasn't room. I went to bed thinking about this and awoke with II Cor. 5:17 running through my mind - "if any person is ingrafted in Christ he is a new creation".
Reading earlier in the chapter speaks more fully to the symbolism I've been thinking about. Paul's been talking about the difference between our earthly body (sometimes calling it a tent) and our heavenly body and says in verse 4, "while we are still in this tent, we groan under the burden and sigh deeply (weighed down, depressed, oppressed) - not that we want to put off the body (the clothing of the spirit), but rather that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal (our dying body) may be swallowed up by life."
This verse really spoke to me. As I've mentioned elsewhere, over 20 years ago, I was so depressed that I came very close to committing suicide. I THOUGHT that was the only thing that could make life bearable. This verse reminded me about that and how glad I am that I didn't go through with it! At the time, I never could have imagined a life with the joy I now have. So this verse reminds me that when depressed, though we may think we want to put off the body (die on this mortal plane), what we really want is to be further clothed! Paul goes on to talk about the promises God has given us and how we can be full of "good and hopeful and confident courage" (verse 6) as we "walk by faith . . . not by sight or appearance" (verse 7).
I can say from personal experience that no matter how dark things may seem, things can and will get better if you open yourself to God's love and seek His plan for your life. That dark place of the soul where everything is disintegrating within and around you is one of the most frightening things a person can experience, but if we just hold on to our faith in God, we'll discover that when the time is right, we'll emerge as a butterfly. You can't rush the process. If you break open a cocoon thinking to spare the creature some of that darkness, you stop the process and he can never become a butterfly. If you wait until you see the butterfly struggling to get out of his cocoon and think to help him by breaking the cocoon open and freeing him, he will never be able to fly - the work of freeing himself from that cocoon is necessary to work the fluid from his wings and strengthen them for the flight ahead. How many people give up just before the miracle??? We must be willing to see the process through if we want to be able to soar above it all in the freedom and joy of flight.
A couple of other things really stood out to me in this passage. The first was in verse 12 where Paul talked about ". . . those who pride themselves on surface appearances. . ." Wow. How many times have I gotten in trouble because what I was concerned about was surface appearances? Whether it's being a Martha and worrying about all sorts of little details that aren't that important, or whether it's being depressed because of how I think others see me, or whether it's being content to just go through the motions of the Christian life rather than diligently seeking to be fed daily and to have God change me at depth, too often surface appearances have been my prideful focus. Father, forgive me. Thank you for your promises for in-depth change and for the many changes you have made in my life. Thank you for saving me from the depths of despair and teaching me to fly!
The last thing that stood out to me this morning was in verse 18. I have spent a great deal of my life trying to figure out what my life's purpose is. Over the years I have felt called to so many different things that at times there seems no rhyme or reason to it. And yet here it is written in a nutshell. ". . . God . . . gave to us the ministry of reconciliation." This is my purpose - reconciliation of people to each other and to God. Thank you, God! If I live my life with this goal in mind, it doesn't matter specifically what I am doing. Whether it is doing papercrafting or blogging or interacting with my fellow dancers or preaching a sermon - if I keep the idea of reconciliation in mind, I am living my life's purpose! Looking back, I can see that the times where things fell apart in my life, were usually times where I got off track and didn't work toward reconciliation.
There are a couple of situations in my life right now, where I long to see reconciliation. I want to rush in and try to fix things, and yet I've fixed all I know how to fix. It is clear that there is a cocoon moment going on and I must be patient. I can trust that when the butterfly emerges, reconciliation will occur. So, I continue to pray and seek God's leading in my life, that my life be in alignment with His will and that I may be ready and waiting when the time for reconciliation in those relationships is here. In the meantime, I continue working to "brighten the corner" where I am. Thank you, Father, for helping me see that I am right where you want me! May I continue to seek your will in my life and be guided by your plan for me. I continue to ask that you create that clean heart in me and renew that right and persevering spirit within me. Thank you, God!
1 comment:
Great post! My thoughts took me just a hair further. It excited me to see my earthly body, which Paul spoke of as "a tent," as being a cocoon. How neat to realize that the butterfly and it's journey from being a worm spinning its cocoon until it emerges as a butterfly is a representation of our lives here on this earth until we are given our new bodies when Jesus comes. That gives me much food for thought.
And I also appreciated learning about my work of "reconciliation." What an eye-opener! Thank you for posting this!
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This blog is simply a sharing of my "daily bread" - my daily walk with God. If something I've said has touched your heart, or sparked a new thought, I'd love to hear from you.