Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. -2 Corinthians 5:17
We recently became the proud owners of half a dozen caterpillars. My nine-year-old daughter is really into bugs, and she was so excited to use a butterfly habitat and watch as caterpillars grew and transformed into butterflies. I was (and still am!) a bit leery of the creepy crawlies, but as we study the meticulous creation of the butterfly life cycle in our homeschool, I am just left in awe of God.
From the tiny egg to the hungry caterpillar to the curious chrysalis to the delicate butterfly, each stage is a miracle in its own. However, the pinnacle of the metamorphosis, the chrysalis, has captured my attention as I’ve found myself reading articles long after school is over.
Once inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar is transformed into an entirely new creature, crawling out of the chrysalis a butterfly. Made of the same cells, but a completely new creation.
Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
It’s such a mirror of what happens to the child of God as she experiences the new birth. Reborn, transformed by the power of the cross, she walks out a new creation. But the metamorphosis of the believer doesn’t stop there. As we are called to daily die to self and be renewed by the transformation of our minds, we experience metamorphoses throughout our lives - each time becoming more and more like Christ.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the caterpillar is that it is born with all the DNA it needs to become a butterfly. Inside its caterpillar body are groups of cells called imaginal discs. Disc-shaped structures that hold the DNA pattern for the butterfly. Each disk has the instructions for a different part of the butterfly, creating the wings, legs, eyes, and more. A chemical in the caterpillar keeps these cells dormant, restraining them from duplicating in the caterpillar. However, once in the chrysalis, the caterpillar dissolves into a mass of goo. If you split it open, it would look like a death, yet the good part is just getting started! The chemical holding back the imaginal discs dissolves, and the disks are free to erupt and duplicate and form butterfly parts.
The pieces for the ultimate design were in the caterpillar all along, the old cells of the former body simply needed to be stripped away first for them to be revealed.
The name of these imaginal discs comes from the Latin word imago, meaning image. This brings to mind the theological term imago Dei, “image of God.”
Just as the old caterpillar had to die away so the new butterfly can be reborn, the child of God dies a new death daily, comforming with each death to look more like Christ. We are image bearers, representing the imago Dei to the world.
So the next time you come to the end of yourself and perhaps feel like all that is familiar and comfortable is being stripped away, know that you haven’t been abandoned. Your struggle isn’t the end. Perhaps you are in a metamorphosis, with the old being stripped away so your spiritual imaginal discs, the imago Dei, can be revealed in your life.
The caterpillar isn’t just devolving into a mass of gooey chaos, there’s a Divine plan in the dissolution. Each cell is marked by its Creator and its path from breakdown of the old to the resurrection of the new has been traced by His hand.
How much more so does He trace your transformation, dear child of God? What is He wanting to dissolve in your life so that His glory can be revealed? Lean into the metamorphosis - there’s beauty awaiting you on the other side.
