Are You a Caterpillar or a Butterfly?
The caterpillar life is basically a selfish life of taking for itself and its own needs. It has no use but for its own ends, which is feeding itself, it does not give any good use to plant life but only takes from it. This is correspondent to man's natural state. There are many enemies to a caterpillar -- predators -- and most have no defense against them.
But then comes a state of transition, as the caterpillar reaches a certain growth level where he spins a cocoon and shuts himself off from all -- a sort of "death" and total inactivity to all outward perception; no longer taking from, and not yet giving to uses either. Though he seems dead and thus worthless he is not, for he is undergoing a complete transformation of all that he is, and will emerge a brand new and very different creature than he was; now suited to a new environment and to giving use to all plant life. No longer bound to the earth, earthy; he has been given wings to fly into the heavenly realms, and there sees, as it were, everything below him that was; and new purpose fills him, and joy and gladness in all things. Where he was the ugliness of a worm, his new adornment is wrought in many colors; this state is correspondent to the spiritual rebirth of a man, and as the resurrection from the dead as a new and very different creature.
The caterpillar has no comprehension of the transformation that his instinct will cause him to undergo. And thus he does not expect it, nor wish for it. He is consumed with the duty of consuming, for this is the all of his life. In the cocoon he does not mourn his past, nor get excited for his future, but becomes, as it were dead to all.
The butterfly has no remembrance of his past, nor of what he once enjoyed, nor has any desire to return there. He is simply given to learning the all of things new; things which challenge him to spread his wings and fly; uses to perform which are delights unto him; never more to remember his past condition or life any more.
Even as the caterpillar knows not what winged life could be like from his caterpillar view of things, nor can fallen man even vaguely imagine the glorious changes his Creator has in store for him as he fully commits his life and future into his Creator's hands. For by complete sacrifice of all one's self to be useful bodies or temples for the habitation of His Spirit to work through, thus having given all; yea, and his own life also, his Creator can withhold nothing from one in such creative obedience.
Man is like a caterpillar in his natural, who sees the need to know why he was created and to know his Creator; so he enters his prayer closet to commune with his Lord, which is like a cocoon where the worm is transformed by that amicable relationship into intimate knowledge of friendship with his Redeemer until they are merged as one in heart and mind. Then fallen man is transformed and like a butterfly emerges a new creature, never again to be remembering or recalling his past life, but only desiring to ascend into his new life in the heavens; he spreads his wings and flies into a new world with new interest, new perspectives and new horizons to be explored and revealed within by the Lord Himself as his guide, in that ascension unto his Creator.
Thus is the natural man set aside, for be emerges with n new mind, a new heart, and a new will that is in perfect agreement with The Eternal; for he is now a spiritual man in desires, hopes, and all the essentials of life; he lives to glorify his Lord and to commune with Him, and to feed upon His Truths being revealed as nourishment. This is THE TRUE REBIRTH OF REGENERATION promised to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Consider It Well