Scripture
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who
was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to
Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who
has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God
were not with him.”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see
the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus
asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be
born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can
enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but
you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with
everyone born of the Spirit.”
John 3:1-8
(NIV)
I love butterflies. I
have always admired God’s handiwork in these beautiful creatures, but during
the most painful season of my life, butterflies became especially meaningful to
me. A powerful symbol of transformation
and new life, the butterfly spoke to my deepest need in my darkest hour: hope.
When I read this puzzling interchange between Jesus and
Nicodemus, it occurs to me that butterflies are some of the few species that
actually experience two births, and two remarkably different lives. A couple of years ago, my family purchased a
butterfly dome, and patiently watched five tiny, scrubby-looking painted lady
caterpillars grow, cocoon, and emerge re-created from their chrysalides as
elegant winged beings. It was an
everyday miracle, happening right in our home--a little taste of heaven, not
lost on any of us.
We were awed, I think, not only by the beauty and excitement
of the anticipated transformation, but because such a thing speaks directly to
the soul. The message of the butterfly
is that the simple, plain, ordinary, and even ugly can be radically changed
into the exquisite, splendid and magnificent.
The deepest longing of my spirit is to know this truth. I need to cling to this promise of
redemption of all things: hope.
When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being born again, I
believe that he was not speaking of a one-time event, but of a lifelong
process. Transformation begins in us
when God claims us through baptism, or even before, but it does not end
there. I am aware of my need not only to
be born again, but to be born again and again and again.
I have read that when a caterpillar is changing inside a
chrysalis, the process involves a complete breaking down of the original
organism. In other words, if you open a
chrysalis during the middle of the process, you would likely find a gob of goo,
not bearing any resemblance to either the caterpillar or the butterfly. The caterpillar is not only transformed; it
is completely broken down so that it can be re-formed. The times in my life when I have truly
experienced spiritual rebirth have felt a lot like that. Part, or parts, of me, seemed to be broken down
completely before they were changed. Birth
is almost never a comfortable experience, even though it is always the Giver of
Life who does the real work.
Greta Smith
This is part of a daily devotional series running through the Lenten Season (March 5-April 20th). Please feel free to comment below and share this devotional with your friends and family.
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