Ephesians 2:1 – 3 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”
For a couple of years, my daughter was obsessed with butterflies. She had butterflies on her curtains, on her bedspread, and attached to her wall at various places. Every chance she got, she wore clothing and jewelry which sported the colorful winged creatures. We planted her a butterfly garden, and we even raised butterflies from larvae, thanks to a nicely packaged butterfly science kit.
One thing I noticed about these interesting creatures is that in order for a caterpillar to become a butterfly, it actually has to cease to exist as a caterpillar. It builds itself a tomb, so to speak, and then, the little creepy-crawly creature “dies”, and a beautiful winged creature is born! The caterpillar really has no future as a caterpillar. If it refuses to build itself a cocoon-tomb, it will die anyway, with no chance for a future.
Friends, without Christ to give us new wings, we are like those caterpillars. While our bodies may function, our spirits are doomed. We can either admit we are dead men walking, with no future and no hope, and we can willingly die to ourselves and let Christ give us new life. Or, we can refuse to face the truth about ourselves, and we will die anyway.
What many people don’t understand is that there is a battle going on for our souls. Satan, who hates us and wants to see us destroyed, will do anything to keep us from letting Christ give us new life. He deceives us by telling us we aren’t really that bad. He destroys us by leading us in a path of disobedience to God’s laws. If we listen to Satan, we are doomed.
But there is good news! If we, like the caterpillar, will come to terms with our certain fate, if we willingly give up our lives (which are doomed anyway) and submit to the One who loves us more than anything, then He will give us wings! When we willingly come to Christ, we experience a spiritual birth, and He will give us a more beautiful life than we could have ever imagined.
Dear Father, Thank You for giving me the opportunity to become a new creature, in You.
Amen
Amazing writing on Ephesians. Thank you!
Thanks! 🙂