One warm spring day I was sitting on a big, flat rock, soaking up the sunshine. My fishing line was baited and out in the water. I hadn’t been sitting there very long when a bug crawled out of the water and sat on the rock in front of me. I thought it was unusual that it came so close, so I sat very still as I watched it.
Suddenly the bug began to look as if it was falling apart. I wondered if it was dying. I forgot all about my fishing and watched the bug. The skin along the top of its back was splitting open, and pretty soon out crawled this strange, wormy-looking creature with legs. It kicked itself free of the old skin and started rubbing its sides with its legs. It wasn’t long before some wings began to unfold from the sides of its body. It fluttered them a little, then rested a bit, letting the sun dry out these new gauze-like wings. Then this strange creature used its legs again to loosen its wings some more and spread them out. Every few minutes it would flutter them a bit and then rest while the warm spring sun I’d been enjoying warmed and dried its whole body.
In about half an hour that ugly, wormy-looking creature had turned into a beautiful double-winged dragonfly!
Do you know that in less time than it took that ugly wormy creature to change into a lovely dragonfly you can be changed from a lost, guilty, hell-bound sinner into a pure, clean child of God? John 1:1212But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12) says, “As many as received Him [the Lord Jesus Christ], to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” That’s right! Just as sure as a caterpillar can become a butterfly or a nymph can become a dragonfly, you can be saved from your sins and be a new creature ready for heaven. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:1313For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13).
A dragonfly cannot return to live in the muddy bottom of the stream where it lived as a nymph. It has a new kind of life. God has given it the ability now to dart through the air at 50 or 60 miles an hour as it does its good work of catching flies and mosquitoes.
The next time you see a dragonfly, remember that it was once a wiggly bug living in the mud at the bottom of a lake or stream. Then it went through an amazing change which gave it a new life that could only live in the air.
After a person has been saved from his sins, he becomes a new creature. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:1717Therefore 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) that “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” God gives us a new life that does not want to live in the filth of sin. It is a clean, pure life that has the power to live above all sin. This new life also has the power to do works that are pleasing to God. King David happily explained his new life this way: “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” Psalm 40:22He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. (Psalm 40:2).
Do you have this new life that makes you ready for heaven?
ML-05/15/1994