I have come to understand why Jesus taught in parables. When the original story is about something we are very familiar with it is easier to make the spiritual connection. The life cycle of a butterfly is one of those familiar stories. See if you can sense the parallel spiritual story.
One day I was outside playing with my six-year-old grandson. When we saw a butterfly he said, “He was first a caterpillar, wrapped himself up in a cocoon and came out a butterfly”. Later, when I reflected back on his comments, I thought what an amazing process God created to bring butterflies into the world. So I searched for the life cycle of a butterfly.
A butterfly goes through four distinct stages of development, a process known as complete metamorphosis. This fascinating transformation takes a butterfly from a tiny egg to a crawling caterpillar, into a resting pupa, and finally into a beautiful, winged adult butterfly. I can only imagine the joy God had in creating such a process. Here are the four parts of the life cycle.
1. The Egg
The cycle begins when an adult female butterfly lays a tiny egg, usually on the leaf or stem of a specific “host” plant that the future caterpillar will eat. These eggs can be round, oval, or cylindrical, and usually hatch in about 3 to 7 days, depending on the species.
2. The Caterpillar (Larva)
When the egg hatches, a tiny caterpillar (or larva) emerges. Its primary job is to eat as much as possible to fuel rapid growth. As it grows, the caterpillar will shed (or molt) its skin several times to accommodate its expanding size.
3. The Chrysalis (Pupa)
Once fully grown, the caterpillar attaches itself to a twig, leaf, or other safe place and forms a protective shell called a chrysalis (also known as a pupa). Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar undergoes an amazing transformation. Its body breaks down and is entirely rebuilt into a winged adult butterfly. This stage can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
4. The Adult Butterfly
When the transformation is complete, the chrysalis splits open and the adult butterfly emerges. At first, its wings are wet, soft, and wrinkled. The butterfly will hang upside down and pump fluid into its wings to expand them. Once the wings are dry and hardened, the butterfly takes flight, sips nectar from flowers, finds a mate, and lays eggs to start the cycle all over again.
When I first thought about these steps, I could see the parallel of our human development. We come from our mother’s egg. After the baby is born its primary job is to grow physically and mentally. The shedding for the baby isn’t skin, but they certainly outgrow a lot of cloths in the process of developing from a newborn to a toddler to a child to a teenager and finally to an adult. Like the caterpillar, the baby’s body is “entirely rebuilt”. However, with humans it takes years, not weeks or months. When the transformation is complete the adult human “takes flight”, “finds a mate”, and the cycle starts all over again.
Then I thought of a statement Dr. David Jeremiah made. He said, “We are not a body with a soul. We are a soul with a body”. Paul called our bodies a tent our souls live in while here on earth. Then the thought came to me that the parallel with the butterfly life cycle is not with just our physical body, but with our spiritual self also. From the self-centered emptiness of our natural spirit, God’s Word breaks through and we are “born again”. Like the larva or the human baby, our spirit’s job is to take in as much “spiritual nourishment” as it can to grow spiritually. The extra bonus our spirit has is once we are born again the Holy Spirit comes to live in our “tent”. As we mature we shed self-centered ideas and philosophies that do not agree with the Bible. Over time our spirit is “entirely rebuilt” by the Holy Spirit and we become followers of Jesus. A “complete metamorphosis”. As followers of Jesus we are called to share God’s truth with this world so the process can start all over again with another person.
I was listening to the Gaither’s on TBN and Gloria Gaither made a comment that pulled the idea of spiritual growth all together for me. She said a parent’s job is to expose their children to God’s truth through the Bible and Christian music. Even if the children don’t understand totally what is being said, it will be in their minds for the Holy Spirit to draw from when they are ready to understand. If they are not exposed to the truth before they need it, when life challenges happen it will not be available to help them when they do need it. Simple but deep truth.
I can totally relate to that thought. When I was young I knew all the key doctrine of Christianity, but the facts had no meaning to my life. However, when God opened my spiritual ears to hear His truth, all that I heard as a young person was there to build on. At that point studying the Bible came alive to me. On my website there is a sub-heading on the home page. “Know what you believe and why you believe it.” Growing up I believed Biblical facts, but I didn’t know why I believed them. They were just facts I was told. When the Holy Spirit lead me to know why I believed them the facts became life changing. They weren’t someone’s opinion. They were God’s own words He gave to the writers of each book. Through the wisdom He gave them to record for generations to come, including us, we can actually hear how God intends for us to live.
Romans 8:28-30 puts this “complete spiritual metamorphosis” into the path God created to bring His children from the “new birth” into the place He called them according to His purpose…
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. 29 For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
Like the butterfly’s life cycle, a complete spiritual metamorphosis. What an amazing God!
Christian Life Coach 