From Caterpillar to Butterfly

Through the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly, God has given us a wonderful example of the difference between life on planet Earth and life in heaven.

Here on Earth, we can try to be the best Christians we can be, but we are still firmly bound to a mortal body and cannot escape its frailty and inadequacy. No matter how hard we try to look like butterflies, we still appear only as caterpillars. We are surrounded by sickness and sin, by depression, oppression, and fear; moreover, we hurt the people around us because of our bad character. This life is full of failures and disappointments; this is because we still live in a fleshly body that is subject to transience and must die, just as we dwell in a transient world that will one day be removed by God.

The great prophet Isaiah recognized this about the condition of humanity: “We are all unclean people, and our righteous deeds are like filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:5)

Jesus will make everything new, but the time for that has not yet come. The Bible clearly states that many things must still happen before God creates a new, perfect world, but this will not happen in this century.

“The one who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new!’ And he added, ‘Write this down, for these words are true and faithful.’ (Revelation 21:5)

We still have to crawl on the ground (figuratively speaking) and eat leaves, but we already have the life of the “butterfly” within us when we are born again through Jesus Christ, because the Holy Spirit lives in us!

To receive this new life, we must accept by faith that the holy blood of Jesus has taken away all our sins and makes us holy, whether we see or feel it or not. It is not about feeling or seeing, but about the fact that God has said it! God came to earth in the body of Jesus to bear the punishment for our sin on the cross of Golgotha, so that we might be saved from hell, because God Himself paid the price for our guilt.

We may hardly be able to sense the new life within us right now, and others may not perceive it either, but eternal life is already within us, and it is already transforming our character, step by step, into a better state—if we allow it to. We can feel the new life within us when we spend time in worship or other activities focused on God. In fact, we can already have supernatural power in our lives when we walk with God, but we are still greatly limited by our human bodies.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor 5:17)

But one day we will be freed from this fragile body; then the butterfly will leave its cocoon and finally be able to fly freely! No more crawling on the ground, no more eating leaves—instead, we will be free and enjoy the honey! So a Christian’s death is always a great deliverance and nothing to really cry about. We don’t simply die, but we are transformed into perfection as soon as we have left our earthly bodies! Then there will be no more fear, no more sickness, hunger, pain, suffering, loss, disappointment, brokenness, or anything else we have to endure here—instead, perfection awaits us!

“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”(Revelation 21,3-5)

If you haven’t yet begun a life with Jesus, you can turn to him right now. If you don’t know how or what to pray to Jesus, you can say “A the life-changing prayer” right here on this page.