The Stuff That’s In You

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  Romans 12: 2 KJV

The metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly is so amazing.  How can something so plain, ugly, mundane, and unsightly as a caterpillar turn into such a beautiful creature as a butterfly?  All a caterpillar does is eat and eat and eat, until one day it just stops. Then it hangs itself upside down and spins itself into a cocoon.  No one can see what is going on inside that crystallized outer shell lined with silk, but transformation is taking place. Here’s brief overview of what is taking place inside the cocoon:

First, the caterpillar digests itself, releasing enzymes to dissolve all of its tissues. If you were to cut open a cocoon or chrysalis at just the right time, caterpillar soup would ooze out. But the contents of the pupa are not entirely an amorphous mess. Certain highly organized groups of cells known as imaginal discs survive the digestive process. Before hatching, when a caterpillar is still developing inside its egg, it grows an imaginal disc for each of the adult body parts it will need as a mature butterfly or moth—discs for its eyes, for its wings, its legs and so on. In some species, these imaginal discs remain dormant throughout the caterpillar’s life; in other species, the discs begin to take the shape of adult body parts even before the caterpillar forms a chrysalis or cocoon. Some caterpillars walk around with tiny rudimentary wings tucked inside their bodies, though you would never know it by looking at them.    

From the article “How Does a Caterpillar Turn into a Butterfly?   August 10, 2012|By Ferris Jabr< Scientific American Magazine

When we were born again, we were caterpillars that consumed everything in sight, until one day the Holy Spirit changed our hearts and we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  That moment, how ever amazingly significant in our lives, was not the apex of our existence, but actually marked the beginning. One of the things that stood out in the passage above is the  phrase “imaginal discs”.  The root word I immediately recognize is “image”.  We are created in the image and likeness of God and he put in us what He imagined for us to become.  Your purpose and destiny lies within you.  Satan wants to disrupt the growth process but He cannot as long as we remain in the precious silk  lined  cocoon (protection) of the Word of God.  For I know the thoughts and plans I have for you, He says (Jeremiah 29:11) ; thoughts of good and not of evil…

Others may not know it by looking at you. But just let them keep on looking. Let them watch God change you by his word from the inside out. Let them see what’s He placed in you before the foundation of the world. God will even use the mistakes you’ve made in the past for your good.  He knows all things so nothing you do surprises Him. What a mighty God we serve!  He can take the mess that is your life and transform it into the miracle of a butterfly!