Behold All Things Have Become New
Mustard Seed Chronicles: Story Time with LU Grandma
I love butterflies! They are graceful, beautiful, and serve a purpose in pollination. They are a delight to watch as they flit around our flowers and yards. They don’t bite people either which is somewhat unique for an insect. I love them most because their life’s metamorphosis looks like ours when we trust Jesus as our Savior.
Before I go any further, I must first tell you that I do not like caterpillars. They gross me out! But, God taught me a very powerful spiritual lesson about them years ago that I’ll never forget.
Do you know where those beautiful butterflies come from? They come from caterpillars! The butterfly lays the eggs, the caterpillars emerge from them and then eat just about everything they can get their mouths on. This can make them a threat to gardens and flowers (and one in Virginia is actually poisonous, so be wary if you touch it)!
How much like us they are. We are born as sinful babies because Adam’s sin nature is passed down to us. Thanks, Adam and Eve! Oh, for the most part we are cute as babies, but as soon as we can start to express ourselves, the temper tantrums, selfishness, and disobedience start to rear their ugly heads and we are tempted to spend our days feeding them.
And yet, in God’s infinite plan, His design is at work! The caterpillar builds a chrysalis and lies dormant for a while. The chrysalis is a rather ugly wrapping, and it’s vulnerable. If not hidden and secured in a guarded place, the chrysalis could be swept away by weather or picked off by other insects. It takes a good while, but one day, life stirs within and out comes something far different than what went into it. The creature now has beautiful wings and only six legs instead of dozens, and it flies away knowing full well what their life’s work is as given by the Creator.
One day, I was an ugly caterpillar willfully trapped in my own sin, but then God sent a lovely Christian lady into my neighborhood. She started telling us about Jesus, how He died on the cross many years ago and sacrificed Himself there to pay the wages for our own sin. His sacrifice and resurrection made it possible to take away all of our sin.
Jesus unconditionally forgives us, gives us a “New Birth,” and make us a new creation. The day I believed the truth about Jesus’s sacrifice, God changed me into a butterfly of sorts! His Word became very real to me and radically changed me forever. Now and for the rest of my life I can reflect that wonder to others and watch their lives be transformed, too!
2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (NKJV).
Prayer:
Father, may this simple Mustard Seed Chronicle produce so many more beautiful “butterflies” because they see their sin and their need of YOU. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (NIV). Because of this, I pray in Jesus’s Name, Amen!
Meet the Author
Timi Plyter
“LU Grandma”
Lead Parent Advocate
