Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:22-24
Object: a large butterfly and caterpillar or pictures of them
Today I have this large butterfly. Aren’t all the colors spectacular? Does anyone know what it was before it became a butterfly? That’s right, it was a caterpillar. Caterpillars have their own beauty, but they cannot compare to the beauty of a butterfly.
Does any one know the big word that describes what happens when a caterpillar changes into a butterfly? It’s metamorphosis. (The four stages are larva, pupa, chrysalis, adult butterfly. Hold up pictures or show on screen if available.) The process can take a few weeks to a year. It’s an amazing part of God’s creation.
The process of becoming a butterfly reminds me of a Bible verse. It’s 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone the new has come.”
When we accept Christ, we become a new creation. Isn’t that exciting! Old things pass away and new things come. It’s like with a caterpillar and butterfly. The large, pupa, and chrysalis pass away and the new thing comes-the butterfly.
How is it that we become a new creation? It’s because Jesus comes to live inside of us. It’s not his physical body which rose from the dead, but it’s his Holy Spirit who comes to live inside our spirit. As new creations, we have a new sense of purpose and meaning for life. We have a new direction. Instead of living to please ourselves, we are living to please Jesus.
After Jesus comes to live inside us, we will never be the same again.
Did you know that a butterfly can never go back to being a caterpillar again? It’s impossible. When we accept Christ, we cannot go back and be the person we were before we accepted Him.
Even though a butterfly cannot be a caterpillar ever again, it can act like a caterpillar again. Instead of soaring up in the air like he was created to be, he can choose to fly places down low like when he was a caterpillar. So, it is with us. Even though we cannot go back to being the person we were before Christ, we can choose to act the way we did before we became that new creation in Christ. If you are a new creation in Christ, let’s be sure that we live in a way that pleases God.