There is a process of transformation that some insects undergo called "metamorphosis." The most common and documented example is the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. A long, larva-like, black and yellow, creature, who inches along the ground munching on leaves . . . an ugly worm-like creature, after a period of time creates a cocoon and morphs into something completely different. It becomes a beautiful butterfly. Something ugly, something unimpressive becomes something extraordinary, with unparallelled beauty in the natural world. It's actually pretty incredible to watch (you can catch a youtube video of a butterfly emerging from it's cocoon here).
I'm facinated by the idea that something could be one thing at one moment and then become something completely different at another. It's amazing to me. I think it's even more amazing because sometimes I very strongly wish I could achieve some kind of metamorphosis, myself. . .
We're talking about Saul, and the fact that his downfall was a result of his deep rooted insecurities. Samuel has told him he would be king, but he is having a very difficult time believing it. He replied, "But am I not a Benjamite . . .?" The suggestion that a person from HIS background, someone as unimpressive as him, would be king over all of Israel seemed ludicrous. But Samuel persisted. He brought Saul to a banquet and placed him at the head of the table. Then Samuel had a private ceremony between he and Saul where Samuel annointed him as the new king of Israel. And then Samuel made Saul a promise that really intrigues me. He told Saul that he should head back home, but along the way, he would encounter some prophets who were filled with the spirit of God. And at that moment, Saul too would be filled with the spirit of God . . . and something AMAZING would happen. Samuel said, "AND YOU WILL BE CHANGED INTO A DIFFERENT PERSON" (1 Sam. 10:6). And as Saul turned to leave Samuel that day and follow his instructions, the Bible tells us, "God CHANGED Saul's heart" (10:9).
What an amazing promise Samuel gave Saul. Imagine being hired for a new job, feeling alittle nervous that you weren't qualified to do it, and you might screw up and be embarrassed . . . imagine if your employer, as part of your hiring bonus said, "Oh and by the way . . . you will be changed into a different person. You will experience a metamorphosis. So if you have any reservations about your ability to do what we ask you to do, don't worry about that. As soon as you walk through this door, you're gonna get transforned into a person who CAN do exactly what I need you to do!" How would that feel? I think it would feel pretty good. Imagine taking all of your fears and anxieties away, and being able to enter that situation with total confidence. I think if one employee got that deal and I didn't, I'd be alittle angry. "How come he got to be changed into a super-employee, and I didn't?" I'd love the opportunity to change the stuff about me that doesn't work very well into stuff that does.
The funny thing is, the New Testament teaches us that every believer has already undergone a metamorphosis like that. Check this passage out: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17). You see just as Samuel gave Saul the ability to transform himself from a lowly shepherd boy to a king, not just in job title but through and through, Jesus has transformed every person who is "in Christ" into a person who is absolutely capable of doing and being exactly what God wants that person to do and be. Those who are in Christ are a new creation. What was old, what didn't work, what held us back, what was ugly, what was unpleasant, what was sinful, what was embarrassing . . . all that stuff has gone, and the new self, the transformed self, the butterfly has come. All that stuff that I wish i could bottle up in a cocoon and transform into something different, Christ has already done. I can say, like Saul, "I'm changed into a different person."
When I hang around old friends of mine from my non-Christian days, I'm reminded of that transformation. it's unfortunate, but very often I leave those encounters thinking, "Wow, I've really changed." The things that were funny before aren't so funny anymore. The stuff that was fun before isn't so fun now. Things that never would have bothered me in the old days seem to bother me alittle more now . . . 'cause I know it bothers God. And when I'm reminded, I can look back over the last 10 years of my life and recognize the metamorphosis that God has let occur inside of me.
My problem (and I think Saul's problem as we'll see) is that we can say we're a new creation all we want and we may even believe it theologically. God may tell us we're something new, something beautiful, but there are always demonic voices that tell us we're not, and while our essence may have changed, our insecurities continue to try and convince us that we haven't. God may look at us and see a butterfly, but when we look in the mirror, and as we lay in bed at night and stare at the ceiling, we wonder if we're still the same ol' ugly little larva who's incapable of doing and being what God has inabled us to be.
And remember Time is another river.
Posted by: Air Jordans | November 08, 2010 at 11:59 PM