STUCK IN A COCOON?

From My Perspective - - -

Leadership gurus and motivational speakers have similar goals when an audience is being addressed. The hope is that individuals will be motivated to maximize their potential by stretch-ing themselves beyond the mundane and routine. The idea is that one should aspire to leave a self-imposed comfort zone and become the person one can be. A popular motivational speaker, John C. Maxwell, challenges his clients and audiences with comments such as: “Learn to say 'no' to the good so you can say 'yes' to the best.” Another comment is: “Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.”

One of his John Maxwell’s comments: “We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.” – is significant in terms of Incubation. The simple definition – incubator/incubation is: “an apparatus in which eggs are hatched artificially; an enclosure in which prematurely born infants are kept in controlled conditions for protection of life and physical care.” A Crosswalk Devotional (Excerpted from Edge-Notes, the bi-monthly newsletter of Living on the Edge; based on the book Holy Transformation. Used with permission. Copyright 2003 by Chip Ingram. All rights reserved) asked this question: “Are You Stuck in a Cocoon?” There is this response given: “Ask any butterfly if God has changed its life, and the answer will be a resounding YES! But according to the respected Gallup and Barna research organizations, you wouldn't get the same response from the average American who believes in Christ. Sadly, recent research from both Gallup and Barna indicates that the decision to follow Christ makes surprisingly little difference in how the average American believer lives. It doesn't change where they spend their time or how they arrange their priorities. It doesn't affect their integrity at work, their sexual expression, their commitment to marriage, or their principles of parenting. Why? Most likely it's because these believers got a little bit of the Easter story, but never fully understood the foundational truths of what was accomplished by Christ's death and resurrection. And that's the core, the basis for the metamorphosis of the believer. And without that, there's no real change…”

With the idea of metamorphosis in mind, a beautiful place that one can visit is Callaway Gardens at Pine Mountain, Georgia. It is a tremendous facility with many attractions to see and enjoy. One of them is the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center at Callaway Gardens “…where 1,000 tropical butterflies, representing more than 50 different species, flutter freely through the air.” In the Center is a laboratory where one can observe people studying the life cycle of a butterfly, as well as working on displays that will enable one to gain a better understanding of a butterfly and its metamorphosis. An excellent time one could choose to go would be between Thanksgiving and Christmas. As well as viewing the Poinsettia displays, there is the opportunity to enjoy the Fantasy In Lights – “8 million lights, 15 dazzling scenes…the South’s most spectacular light and sound show…” Aside from this promotional, metamorphosis is the primary focus.

The metamorphosis of the Butterfly has an important lesson for us. Unless and until the butterfly emerges from its cocoon and begins to spread its wings, one can never see and appreciate the Butterfly and the natural beauty of it. The same is true of a human life. II Corinthians 5:17 states: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” The New Living Translation has a phrase that lends itself to a spiritual metamorphosis, “They (the new believers/Christians) are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! “ Question: Do you think you were intended to remain a caterpillar (larvae) or to become a beautiful butterfly?” Incubation serves a useful purpose but it is not intended as the permanent dwelling for anyone or anything. For the believer/Christian, one is supposed to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ and to display the beauty of the Gospel and its message of light to a world that is lost in the darkness of this age. The words of a song are significant, both as a goal and as a prayer: “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me; All His wonderful passion and purity; Oh, Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.” Make these words your goal and prayer. Consider these things with me.