{"id":6201,"date":"2018-03-03T13:17:14","date_gmt":"2018-03-03T19:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=6201"},"modified":"2018-03-03T13:17:14","modified_gmt":"2018-03-03T19:17:14","slug":"the-butterfly-remembers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/03\/03\/the-butterfly-remembers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Butterfly Remembers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0By Lori Belihar Boyd<\/strong><\/span>
\nI read something interesting the other day.\u00a0A study conducted by researchers at Georgetown University found that butterflies remember aspects of their lives as caterpillars.\u00a0This may sound completely unremarkable at first, but consider what takes place in the chrysalis.\u00a0The caterpillar experiences a metamorphosis:\u00a0\u00a0a complete change in form, structure, or function as a result of development<\/b>.\u00a0I\u2019ve heard it compared to recycling where something entirely new is\u00a0created from something else.\u00a0A\u00a0large portion of the caterpillar\u2019s body is broken down to the stem cell level and the stem cells then put themselves back together into a different shape, referred to as\u00a0holometabolism<\/i>.\u00a0It is amazing that, through that process, the butterfly emerges and can even recall some of its previous life as a larva.\u00a0<\/span>
\nThis should sound very familiar to the Christian!\u00a0 We can relate to the butterfly because\u00a0of the complete life change\u00a0that is\u00a0experienced\u00a0through\u00a0baptism.\u00a0Before<\/b>\u00a0being immersed into Christ\u00a0(Galatians 3:27),\u00a0we were wingless and\u2026well,\u00a0wormlike.\u00a0Sin\u00a0bound us to the world,\u00a0left us belly crawling,\u00a0growing larger and larger\u00a0as we continually munched on the cares of the world.\u00a0Then, God saved us!\u00a0Through the free gift of grace, God provided\u00a0an opportunity for transformation.\u00a0All we have to do is listen to His directions that\u00a0will lead us to a safe place, believe in His promise for our future, shed our old skins,\u00a0declare Jesus Christ as His Son,\u00a0and\u00a0then\u00a0enter into the watery chrysalis of baptism\u00a0to become new creatures with new lives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u201cTherefore, if anyone is in Christ,\u00a0he is a new creation<\/b>; old things have passed away; behold,\u00a0all things have become new<\/b>\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:17, emp. added).\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u201cTherefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in\u00a0newness of life<\/b>\u201d\u00a0(Romans 6:4, emp. added).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nNow, here is where the Christian and the butterfly travel a different pathway.\u00a0In as much as\u00a0butterflies exhibit behaviors\u00a0that are reminiscent\u00a0of\u00a0their former lives as larvae, the Christian must\u00a0\u201c<\/b>not remember<\/b>\u00a0the former things nor consider the things of old\u201d<\/b>\u00a0<\/i>(Isaiah 43:18).\u00a0<\/i>Paul, in his life, recognized that he had not yet reached the ultimate\u00a0prize of eternal glory, then\u00a0committed himself to forgetting the past and reaching forward to the future as he pressed toward that goal (Philippians 3:13-14).\u00a0<\/span>
\nFor the Christian, it\u2019s not remembering\u00a0how bad life was as a caterpillar;\u202fit\u2019s the daily reminder that we are butterflies because\u202fof Jesus and the sacrifice that\u202fHe made for us on the cross.\u00a0Every\u00a0day we \u201ctransform\u201d and remind ourselves that we are not of this\u202fworld,\u00a0we\u2019ve left behind our lives as caterpillars, and\u00a0we renew our minds. These are not my\u00a0words, but Paul\u2019s,\u00a0as he\u202fwrote to the Romans about\u202fgiving their lives\u202fover completely to God\u00a0(Romans 12:2).\u00a0<\/span>
\nAs\u00a0butterflies, there should\u00a0be an obvious difference in\u202fthe way we look and behave from caterpillars.\u00a0If\u202fwe continue to read chapter 12 in Paul\u2019s letter to the Romans,\u00a0we\u202ffind many suggestions he gave as to how Christians\u202fshould conduct themselves,\u202factions that\u202fwould help distinguish between\u202fthat\u202f\u201dewwww\u201d\u00a0stage\u00a0of life as\u202fa larva to the \u201cahhhhhh\u201d stage of life as\u202fa majestic butterfly!\u202f\u00a0<\/span>
\nWhen I see a butterfly,\u00a0I\u00a0feel humbled\u202fby its beauty and the\u202fpower that God has to make such an awesome change.\u00a0I wonder\u202fif the butterfly remembers what it felt like to\u00a0crawl\u202fas it\u202fgracefully\u202ftakes\u00a0flight?\u00a0I\u00a0am thankful that because I left\u00a0my old life behind\u00a0and accepted God\u2019s grace through obedience in baptism, I don\u2019t\u00a0have to remember.\u00a0I\u202fpray that I never take for granted the opportunity\u00a0God has given me to fly above this world and\u00a0that without Him I wouldn\u2019t\u00a0have the wings to try.\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nIn Memory of Carol<\/i>\u00a0<\/span>
\nCarol\u00a0<\/i>Corlew<\/i>\u00a0Boyd\u00a0<\/i>was called home to be with our Heavenly Father on\u00a0<\/i>May\u00a0<\/i>14<\/i>, 2013<\/i>.\u00a0<\/i>Carol had already conquered death when she made the decision to become a Christian many years ago and put on Christ in baptism<\/i>.\u00a0<\/i>She was lovely<\/i>,<\/i>\u00a0and as I wrote about butterflies I couldn\u2019t help but be reminded of her<\/i>.\u00a0<\/i>She was beautiful, happy,\u00a0<\/i>always busy doing good,\u00a0<\/i>and quietly touched the lives of so many<\/i>.\u00a0<\/i>Carol truly possessed the marks of a true Christian<\/i>\u00a0that Paul described in Romans 12<\/i>\u00a0and flew above this world<\/i>\u00a0with<\/i>\u00a0strong wings<\/i>.\u00a0<\/i>She was and will continue to be an inspiration to all who were blessed to know her.<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0By Lori Belihar Boyd I read something interesting the other day.\u00a0A study conducted by researchers at Georgetown University found that butterflies remember aspects of their lives as caterpillars.\u00a0This may sound completely unremarkable at first, but consider what takes place in the chrysalis.\u00a0The caterpillar experiences a metamorphosis:\u00a0\u00a0a complete change in form, structure, or function as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,66],"tags":[1405,1412,520,1226,1387],"class_list":["post-6201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-living","category-think-excerpts","tag-august-2013","tag-butterfly","tag-growth","tag-lori-boyd","tag-solid-grounds","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Butterfly Remembers - 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