The Unique World of Butterflies
The
story is told of a time when an
awkward
but pretty flying insect, called
the
flutterby, was known by that
name
through the whole of a kingdom.
One
day when the king and his attending
servants
were walking through the
royal
garden, he remarked how beautiful
this
creature was. In an unintended
spoonerism,
he called it a butterfly. The
staff
giggled at first, then laughed out
loud.
The king was embarrassed, then
made
a proclamation that from that day
on,
no one should ever call it a flutterby
again,
under threat of imprisonment. And
ever
since, it has always been called a
butterfly.
Logical?
Maybe, but let’s look at this
delicate
creation.
It
begins life as a caterpillar, then quietly
goes
through a process called
metamorphosis,
suddenly breaking out as
a
completely different organism—a
butterfly.
Now it has wings that lift it
high
in the air and are able to carry it
over
vast distances and have all the colors
of
the spectrum.
These
colors are made up of thousands
upon
thousands of tiny scales. Each set
in
a
predetermined pattern. These tiny scales
act
as baffles, refracting the light
and
filtering out all the colors of the
rainbow
except the one that fits it’s own
personal
pattern. These scales
form
stripes and dots that are unique to
each
species. Some patterns look like
large
eyes. Others look just like
a
leaf. And some blend in with the
flower
they
are feeding on, so completely that
they
are barely discernible.
Most
of us, at some time in our lives, have
caught
a butterfly and noticed that when
we
rubbed the wing, a powder-like
substance
came off on our fingers, and the
colors
came off, leaving a bare wing. We
have
just rubbed off the scales, and if you
looked
at your finger, you could see them.
Now
it has delicate feelers to detect
odors.
A long proboscis to feed on nectar,
and
compound eyes, to watch in nearly all
directions
at once. And most amazing,
some
butterflies taste with their toes.
By
touching the nectar with their feet,
They
can detect sugar as small as 1/200th the ability of man’s tongue.
Could
all this simply come about by random
chance--not
once, but in this case, twice-
-and
in the same creature?
No,
this comes only by design, and that
design
only by God.
Those
of us who have accepted Jesus as
our
Savior, have, like the butterfly, gone
through
a tremendous metamorphosis.
Maybe
not the extreme physical change,
but
one deeper—more subtle. A
conversion
of
faith that can only be experienced by
graciously
taking this wonderful gift of a
loving
God. That is the real change.
That
inner glow that reflects to the
outside
world that we are joint heirs with
Christ.
And believe me, the world
WILL
see that change.
This
gentle, fluttering creation is always a
reminder
of the very reason for our
existence.
To praise and worship
Jesus—our
Creator, our Savior, our God.
My
friend, wouldn’t you like to go through
A
metamorphosis and leave all cares and
hurts
of the world behind to become a
child
of the Lord Jesus Christ? Just
ask
Him to forgive you and allow Him to
come
into your heart and life. His love
is
real.
His promise is true.
He
wants to give you this very special gift.
Just
reach out and freely accept it, and
you
can become a new creation in Him.
“For
all things were created by Him and
for
Him, and without Him was not anything
made
that was made.”
(John
1:3)
