Alive Again!

 

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: John 11:25

Last fall, we found this enormous caterpillar. We put him in a terrarium to watch for a few days. The next day there was a fuzzy cocoon in the back corner of the terrarium. We were so excited! We thought in a few weeks, it would hatch out and we would see what kind of moth we had. Our best guess from caterpillar pictures was a luna moth. We waited and watched and waited some more. Nothing happened. It appeared the caterpillar in the cocoon had not survived. We were disappointed but we didn't clean out the cocoon. Other matters were taking our attention.

April was beginning to bring warmer weather and better light. Last Thursday afternoon, one of the children noticed a big brown blob on the covering of the terrarium. No, we still had not bothered to clean the terrarium. Everything in it was as dead as the winter outside, or so we thought. We all gathered to take a look. There was a huge brown moth just clinging to the screen. It wasn't moving. It must be dead, but we left it alone. Wrong again. The next morning, it had dropped to the bottom and spread its wings. Two big beautiful brown eye dots glared from each wing, enough to scare any predator. All day we watched, but it didn't move until the afternoon. As one of the children took another look, the moth began to flop and knock against the sides of the terrarium. It was obviously alive and kicking. I trapped him with a net against the screen top. We took it outside to let it free. For a few moments it dropped to the top of my sneaker, then... with the clumsy fluttering of giant wings, it flew up and off across the yard to a distant oak. The children waved and yelled their good-byes and see you agains. 

God always has ways to give us pictures to help us understand His word, his plan. In John 11 we read the story of Lazarus. Lazarus was sick and eventually died. By the time Jesus came, Lazarus had been dead four days. They were all sure he was dead. He really was dead, but when Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave, Lazarus was as alive as you and I. Jesus is the only One who has the power to give life to the dead. Jesus created moths and butterflies to help us with a spiritual explanation. When the caterpillar spins the cocoon or chrysalis, it looks very dead, but when it comes forth, it is a new creature. It is no longer a caterpillar but a beautiful moth or butterfly. It can never go back to its old life. When we ask Jesus to forgive our sins, He changes us. We are dead to our old live and we have a new life in Christ. One day, when Jesus calls, all that are in the grave will come forth, just as Lazarus did. Some will come alive to live with Jesus eternally. Some to die the second death in the lake of fire. 

Make this day the day you allow Jesus to make you a new creature in Him.

Blessings,

Gail 

Hey Kids:

Have you ever read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle?

The caterpillar was doing just fine until he chose to eat food that is not good for caterpillars. He tried to go back to eating caterpillar food but his course was set. He had to spin the cocoon and allow God to change him into a beautiful butterfly. 

The butterfly is a perfect picture of how we must recognize we are sinners. We must die to our old way of life and let Jesus change us to live a new life in Him. 

What other things in Jesus' creation demonstrates death to an old life and resurrection to a new life?

Here are some hints to help you investigate.

Frogs: Discover the frog life cycle. Write out a spiritual application of the frog.

Seeds: Grow a few seeds in a plastic bag to discover a plant life cycle. Then write out the spiritual application. 

Are there friends or websites for you to share your discoveries? 

We would be glad for you to share with us here.