I’m going to let you in on a little secret that some of your friends have, and it might just gross you out (unless you’re one of the people I am speaking about). It’s a little secret known as clothes recycling. Often done in an effort to save money on energy bills or for some other reason of saving something (i.e. time, etc.) clothes that were worn all day or part of the day are refolded and placed back in drawers, hung backup in closets, or occasionally left to air out if necessary so that they may be worn another day. Some of us who participate in this even go so far as to turn the hangers on which are clothes hang so as to mark them as being worn once knowing that after the second wear we should probably toss them into the laundry. Some of you might be grossed out, others are thinking that this is no big deal because if the clothes aren’t dirty or smelly then no big deal and others are now wishing you’d heard about this sooner.
Now imagine yourself waking up, putting on the socks you wore yesterday, only in this instance yesterday was a hard day at work which leaves you exhausted; you don’t have the energy to do anything but flop into bed. The next morning finds you hurried; you don’t give a second thought about changing those socks, not even after your intense workout at the gym. The third morning your washer breaks and the only pair of socks you have are the pair you’ve been wearing for three days straight. It takes three days for the washer to be fixed, and you’re caught in a heavy rainstorm that floods your shoes. Even though you know wearing those socks is a bad idea, you do it anyway because you have no other options. By day five you’ve grown used to wearing them; you decide you’re never taking them off! While this scenario seems far-fetched, it happens to a lot of us. We don’t continue to wear filthy, smelly socks but we do continue to give in to the same sins and temptations we always have, year after year after year.
We continue to sin the same sins and carry around our old sin-nature. All of which is completely unnecessary; we have freedom from sin through Christ’s death and resurrection. II Corinthians 5: 17 has an incredible truth that we have a tendency to forget: “Therefore, if any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. That temptation that eats away at us during the day—the sin that so easily ensnares—does not have to remain a problem for those who’ve been redeemed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. We can achieve, through our faith in Christ, not only eternal life in Heaven, but a renewed life here on earth focused on God instead of corrupt, sinful desires.
This awesome concept, which can only come from God, is preserved for us by His Divine Will in His Holy Word; it’s a truth for those who are saved! It is also a truth for those still lost in their sins. Though they may never darken the doorstep of a church or crack open a Bible, this truth is not a mystery to them. The Bible tells us that God has given to us signs of this truth in His creation. Three of these are: salmon, butterflies, and frogs. We read in Romans 1: 20: “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse”. In these three animals created by God, the concept of a transformed life under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is evident to all people.
Butterflies are often used to symbolize our new or great personal change. God has preserved a symbol of renewed life easily seen in the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. Caterpillars crawl, but butterflies can soar! We find in our transformed lives new abilities: the ability to resist temptation, the ability to put God and others ahead of ourselves, and the ability to serve Christ in ways that seemed impossible before.
Salmon are a freshwater fish usually born as eggs in mountain streams at a high altitude. Around three years of age their body chemistry changes and they begin a journey downstream to the ocean now able to survive in saltwater. Christ enables a similar change in us. We receive the ability to be in new surroundings as Christians; we no longer need to hang out in the same dark corners of our soul, but are changed “…through the renewing of our minds”.
The physical transformation from tadpole to frog has truths in it preserved by God for us to see the redeeming power of Christ’s death on the cross. Not only do we receive a spiritual and mental transformation through God’s love in sacrificing his Son, but a physical one as well. Many of the vices we held to become less important to us in the shadow of the cross. Our lives change for the better, and people notice an outward difference in us. New life in Christ through accepting Him as our Savior gives us the ability to do things we didn’t think possible: changing how we live our life, what we view as important, a new sense of purpose to make a difference in the lives of all those around us. By seeing these changes in us, others will see validity in accepting Christ as their Savior. They will acknowledge a life they can truly be proud of is attainable through Christ.
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