Many thanks to Susan for sharing this beautiful devotional thought with us. She also writes at her blog home, Susan’s Spot.
As often as possible, I love to raise butterflies as a homeschool
project. O.K., so I really do it as a homeschool MOM project, as I
love watching them at all stages in their development! The connections
between them and our own spiritual life are so strong. Nature really
will speak to us, if we will only listen. This photo shows two
different chrysalis–one has hatched out and become a butterfly
already, while the second is still developing. Sometimes, for no
apparent reason, the butterfly never comes out of the chrysalis stage.
God offers to all of us the possibility of a new life–but we have to
accept His offer. He won’t force His gift on us. We must accept it,
and only then will we be made new. Our old, ugly sinful life will be
covered up with Jesus’ blood, and we will be given His righteousness
instead.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has
gone, the new has come!”
2 Corinthians 5:17
But even though we may have accepted God’s gift, that does not mean
that we are with no danger. Things of this world abound that will take
our focus off of God and put it on ourselves. We make gods out of
us–but we are powerless to save.
” Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
“Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your
brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of
sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:9
Praise God, we are not left without One who saves us!
(Just for the record, no, my cat Pumpkin is NOT allowed up on the
table! But obviously, he does not obey the rules! Satan does not play
by the rules either–he will try and get us when we are the most tired
and discouraged.)
Jesus lowered Himself down to this sin-filled earth, leaving the
glory of heaven, so that He might save each one of us. We do not
deserve His gift–but He loved us so much that He came anyway, even
though we have no merits of our own. Nothing that in any way makes us
qualified or deserving of this gift.
My daughter Alison loves to release the butterflies to their new life.
To watch them take off to live the beautiful life they were designed
to live. No longer crawling, now they can FLY!
“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order
that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
Father, we too may live a new life. ” Romans 6:4
The Adventist Home Educator 