We are studying the book of Ephesians at the Porch right now and last Tuesday we were in chapter 4 verses 17-32. JP (@jpokluda) was talking about "truth that makes you different" (v. 20-24) and it brought a picture to my mind.
My parents are avid gardeners and my mom could be equated to the plant whisperer. She could bring a stick back to life and putting out leaves just by sticking it in the ground. I went out to their house last week and saw something extremely rare...
They had a plant that was dying.
She has a vine (I don't even know what it is...can you say brown thumb?) with beautiful purple flowers growing at the front of their house. But the vine looked like nothing more than twine with the remnants of what might have been leaves at some point. When she came outside, I asked her what was going on with her vine.
She told me it was being attacked by caterpillars. They have migrated in and demolished the vine, leaving nothing but what could be described as a shadow of the vine's former glory. The caterpillars come in and eat everything they can, leaving ruin in their wake. As my mom was explaining their path of destruction and her failed attempts at getting rid of them, a beautiful butterfly flew by. She pointed it out and said, "And yet, that is what these terrible caterpillars become! How can you hate something so beautiful?"
As I listened to JP teach about restoration and renewal, I could not help but think of the caterpillars and butterflies. They begin as destructive, unappealing creatures that ruin beautiful living things. But then they change. They become butterflies that are not only beautiful, but help bring forth beauty in other things through pollination.
What a perfect picture of the change we go through as believers. We are dead in our sin, prone to destruction, leaving ruin wherever we go. But then Christ comes into the picture and we are transformed. We become beautiful, bearing fruit with gifts we can use to build up the body of Christ. We can help bring life to those who are living dead. We are different because of the truth we come to know. Joseph's words in Genesis 50:20 summarize this metamorphosis perfect for me. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Destruction to Life.
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