The Example of the Butterfly
“Butterflies are proof that you can go through a great deal of darkness and still become something beautiful.” Author Unknown
We are transformed by grace and hope in Him! The caterpillar endures the stillness of her cocoon before emerging a totally different creature. One that once crawled but now flies!
Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash
Images generated using NightCafe Studio. Scripture from Berean Study Bible.
Living Sacrifices (BSB)
(1 Corinthians 3:16–23; 1 Corinthians 6:18–20)
1Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.a 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
J.B. Phillips’ Translation
With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give Him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to Him and acceptable by Him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the Plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.
Summary and Commentary: Key Terms
1. Mercies of God
The phrase “the mercies of God” refers to all of what has preceded in chapters 1—11. The exhortation that Paul presents is that since we have been the recipients of God’s great mercies, we are to be “living sacrifices” to God.
How do we do this? We are living sacrifices to God by not conforming to this world, but by being transformed by the renewal of our minds.
https://www.gotquestions.org/renewing-the-mind.html
2. Living Sacrifice Enduring Word Commentary:
A living sacrifice: First century people, both Jews and pagans, knew first-hand what sacrifice was all about. To beg that they make themselves a living sacrifice was a striking image.
· The sacrifice is living because it is brought alive to the altar.
· The sacrifice is living because it stays alive at the altar; it is ongoing.
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/romans-12/
We are living sacrifices that continues to become more like Christ. This process happens as He transforms us: Got Questions links repentance, transformation, and growth in action (emphasis mine)
“It is interesting to note that Paul says that we must be transformed by the renewing of our “minds.” The mind is the key to the Christian life. The reason why non-Christians do not respond to Christian truth is that they cannot discern spiritual truth (1 Corinthians 2:14). The gospel is a call for the unbeliever to repent of his sin and embrace Christ by faith.”
Role of Repentance
“The Greek word translated “repentance” carries the notion of a change of mind. Our thinking must be changed (transformed) from old, ungodly ways of thinking into new, godly ways of thinking. What we know in our minds to be true forms a conviction in our hearts of that truth, and that conviction in our hearts translates into action. Therefore, we must first renew our minds.”
Source: Got Questions “What does it mean to be transformed by the renewing of the mind” linked previously
Proof of Transformation: Enduring Word Commentary
d. Prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God: As we are transformed on the inside, the proof is evident on the outside, as others can see what the good and acceptable and perfect will of God is through our life.
The newly emerged butterfly nourishes himself with nectar for the journey.
Chambers & Our Mind
The Distraction of Contempt
“Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare to indulge. If we do, we will find they have distracted us from faith in God. Until we get back into a quiet mood before Him, our faith is of no value, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is what rules our lives.”
Source: https://utmost.org/updated/the-distraction-of-contempt/
The Cross, Our focus!
Chambers reminds us of our center:
“We have to concentrate on the great point of spiritual energy, the Cross, to keep in contact with that centre where all the power lies, and the energy will be let loose. In holiness movements and spiritual experience meetings the concentration is apt to be put not on the Cross of Christ, but on the effects of the Cross.”
Source: https://utmost.org/updated/the-focal-point-of-spiritual-power/
Favorite Hymn for this Topic: Fanny Crosby’s “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross”
Jesus, keep me near the Cross,
there a precious fountain,
free to all a healing stream,
flows from Calvary’s mountain.
In the Cross, in the Cross,
be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river.
Interpretation and Meaning:
“The glory of the Cross, a theme of the refrain, is a common metaphor of Romantic-era hymnody. The Cross, a place where the pain of earth and the joy of heaven come together, is a kind of spiritual altar to which we might draw near for refuge and solace. From it flows a “precious fountain”—an image perhaps borrowed from the 18th-century poet William Cowper and his hymn “There is a fountain filled with blood” (UM Hymnal, No. 622).
Though an instrument of cruel punishment and torture, the Cross is a source of a “healing stream” (stanza one) and a place where “the bright and morning star sheds its beams” on us (stanza two).”
Source: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-jesus-keep-me-near-the-cross-1
Prayer
Gracious Heavenly Father, keep our souls near,
When the darkness surrounds and seems to crush us,
Remind us that you endured Good Friday and the sting of death before the glorious Light of Easter Morning
To make a way for us to walk in your light, experience your grace, radiate your love and compassion,
And be transformed into your likeness as you renew, refresh, and heal our brokenness.
That we be instruments of peace, love, compassion, and hope in this dark world that eagerly awaits your renewal to be made complete.
Godspeed your journey of faith. Keep walking ahead!
Words of Grace & Hope 