Flying Worms
This has been a nostalgic morning for me. It was Sean’s last full day of school. As I was preparing his last lunch I was listening to National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. The program discussed how Monarch butterflies leave their winter home in the fall and return the following spring. When I was a little boy I enjoyed a book I borrowed from my father’s library, entitled Flying Worms, by Dr. Harry Rimmer. He compared the maturing process of a Christian to the changes of a caterpillar into a butterfly. As I was thinking about our son and the youth of our church, I thought of the many ways rearing a child and seeing him or her go forth into this world is similar to the butterfly’s experience.
1. They must find a safe place to incubate.
Up from the ground in a beautiful woven cocoon, the immature butterfly will (in its caterpillar state) find a safe, peaceful place to wait its turn to fly out of its chrysalis and into this world.
Hopefully, Christchurch is providing a haven for our youth to be protected and prayed for. How important it is to have security in one’s life at this point! A godly home and a separated church play the most significant roles. The kind of a home where Dad is the spiritual leader and Mom is a lady who fulfills the role of a Proverbs 31 woman will certainly be a great place to incubate. Here is a verse we rarely hear quoted anymore: “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (II Corinthians 6:17).
2. They must break lose from their cocoon.
One day the struggling caterpillar straining and stretching to break free from its chrysalis bemused a young child. The child wanting to be helpful, carefully and lovingly peeled some of the chrysalis away, thus preventing the struggle of escaping. However, to the grief and disappointment of the child, the glorious butterfly in incubation shortly died. We see according to God’s way and science, the very struggle that strengthens the young insect is the very thing that will give it the ability to live and fly in this world with the most beautiful wings God ever put upon an insect.
“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). Joseph told his brothers, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Genesis 50:20). He was pointing out that the very hardship was God’s plan to save the world from hunger. The way of God incorporates adversity to prepare us always for something good!
3. They must be aligned with the Son.
Monarchs have been found to fly 2,900 miles to their migratory home. Lincoln Brower, famed biologist and student of the butterfly explains that almost all of the Monarchs that migrate east of the Rockies land in an area of only 30 by 60 miles, not far from Mexico City. This is equivalent to a pinpoint on the map. How do they do it? How do these butterflies survive and make the trip to the exact place every year. It is also understood that its short life prevents any one butterfly from making more than one trip. Therefore there is something in its DNA that passes this information to the succeeding generations. A group of neurobiologist from the University of Massachusetts has been looking into the navigational skills of the butterfly. Stephen Rephert said, “It is a question begging to be addressed.” So he and his research team captured Monarch butterflies and attached a thin tungsten wire into their abdomen to track their movements. After two years of study, Rephert discovered the butterflies would always adjust their movement in proportion to the sun, always in the same direction. For two years these scientists tracked these tethered butterflies. They have discovered that there is a certain chemical that all butterflies have that are exposed to the sun. As the sun moves through the sky, the university team found that the chemical in the tethered butterflies would change. Interestingly, they noted that butterflies in the dark did not contain this chemical gene. The navigational skills of the butterfly are so advanced that in a trip of over two thousand miles they can safely negotiate and go around the fiercest storms.
As we consider our children, but more importantly the children of God, we see that the Son, too, guides them and us. When He is paramount in our sky, we are provided with skills beyond our mere wingspan. To live outside His discipleship is to “fly in the dark.” Let us, as parents, pray that God will guide them with His Divine light! “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me…” (Psalm 43:3).
- Pastor Pope -