There are many insects that amaze. Some ants can carry objects fifty times their body weight; bees turn nectar into honey; lightning bugs emit flashes of light—chemically—to attract mates. Most remarkable to me are butterflies, especially the Monarch Butterfly, that transform from very hungry caterpillars to stunning, beautiful flying insects.
I was introduced to Monarchs by a teacher in third grade. She showed us milkweed and the tiny little striped caterpillars that would miraculously become brilliant Monarch butterflies. She put several in a dry glass aquarium, and we’d watch as they munched their way through leaf after milky leaf, growing by leaps and bounds. Then one morning, we saw little greenish chrysalises hanging from a screen covering the top of the tank. From that point, it was like waiting for Christmas until the day the Monarchs emerged. That day, we could see part of their wings through their translucent cocoons. It wasn’t much later that each Monarch split its cocoon and inflated its wings.
The Monarch is a jewel of creation, a masterpiece. One of the most amazing facts is the migration of the Monarch for over 3,000 miles. From around Maine in the north to the central Mexican mountains in the south, millions of Monarchs complete this astounding feat annually. While there are many theories on how it flits its way across the eastern United States to Mexico, it remains a bit mysterious how a brain the size of a pinhead can conduct such a journey. Its navigation skills are innate. Does it use the sun to guide itself? Is there a compass in this insect? Does it follow the terrain with an internal GPS? Lots of theories abound, but how it accomplishes this remains a mystery.
Its lifecycle is worthy of a quick study. A female Monarch, after overwintering in Mexico, flies back into the United States and lays its eggs on the only plant that Monarch caterpillars eat: milkweed. The hatchling begins an odyssey of devouring and molting around five times, until it becomes a full-sized adult caterpillar. The moment everyone waits for is the last molting, where the caterpillar sheds its skin, revealing a green pupa, called a chrysalis, which it leaves hanging from a branch. This spring generation butterfly continues a northward migration, mates, lays eggs, and dies. It takes two more generations to reach the northeastern tip of the United States or Canada. That is when the offspring of the third generation becomes the Monarch to fly south—the whole way to Mexico.
They call it metamorphosis when a caterpillar, or larva, goes through a phase in a cocoon where it is miraculously transformed from a little crawling creature to a delicate flying insect. Like all of creation, it smacks of the impossible. The egg of a Monarch, carefully laid at the base of a milkweed leaf by its mother (which lays another 300 to 500 eggs), is no larger than the tip of an ink pen. Like any other egg, the egg contains a mixture of proteins and DNA—all the DNA needed to eventually become a glorious orange and black butterfly.
All of this is marvelous and points to another great case for a Designer. But I think it’s an even better allegory for a more amazing metamorphosis.
One of the greatest affirmations of God’s existence—and, beyond that, the truth of Christianity—is the transformative power of the Gospel. What does that mean? Believers in Jesus are filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit empowers them to overcome temptation and sin, and He transforms them into new creations.
These changes look like overcame addictions, radical worldview shifts, abandoned sin and sinful lifestyles, hearts that live for God; in short, repentance. Not only these, but Christians experience peace with God because their sins were atoned for by the death of Jesus on the cross. He bore the punishment for the sins of those who put their faith in Him. Imagine having peace with God, in spite of all the horrible things you have done. Imagine what experiencing forgiveness by God is like for everything you’ve ever done wrong. Christians enjoy an indescribable freedom and have authentic fellowship with their Creator.
So how are believers in Jesus metamorphosed? People who surrender their lives to God put their faith in Jesus and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said His Holy Spirit would dwell with them and will be in them (John 14:17). In this way, as Jesus explained to a Pharisee named Nicodemus, they become “born again” (John 3:1-15). The Apostle Paul stated in his second letter to the Corinthian church, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The process of transformation, often called sanctification, is different for everyone. Some people have experienced immediate deliverance from addictions like alcoholism. Others struggle for years to master loving their neighbors. But if a person is truly surrendered to Christ, they will bear fruit in their lives (Galatians 5:22-23) and grow in their relationship and walk with the Lord.
Once, after watching a wealthy man walk away after hearing a hard word from Jesus, the Lord said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:23-26).
The Lord’s point is that people are powerless to change on their own. You can read every self-help book ever written. You can make resolutions and vows. But authentic, lasting, and eternal change in a man or woman’s heart is only possible with God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
