Change From the Inside Out
Happy New Year! I hope that your New Year has started off like you have hoped. There is something about the turning of the calendar that brings a sense of hope and excitement to me - new year, new opportunities, and a chance to start anew. Honestly, nothing is really different from December 31 to January 1, except maybe being a little tired from staying up too late to watch a ball drop.
Every New Year, I look over the past 12 months and consider what I have accomplished so that I can plan my year ahead. You might know the drill, too - I gained five pounds last year, let’s lose 25 this year by February 1; I saved $200 last year, let’s save $50,000 this year; I read ¼ of a book this year, let’s read a book a day. No, I’m not going to go on talking about how those are not S.M.A.R.T. Goals. That’s another article. However, I do want to think about the opportunity to be transformed in 2025.
There is a saying, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” This is one of my favorite sayings from the Bible. That word “transform” is where we get our word “metamorphosis.” Real transformation is more than an outward change, it is a change from the inside out.
We see this metamorphosis illustrated clearly when we observe the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly. A caterpillar is born and spends about four weeks getting ready for the next stage - the chrysalis stage. The chrysalis is that silk tube looking thing that protects and prepares the caterpillar for its butterfly stage. The chrysalis is almost completely dark, except a slight opening at the top that allows a sliver of light in. While transforming, the caterpillar, soon to be butterfly, has a sliver of hope. During the next few days, as the caterpillar changes, there comes a point that it looks like its ready to fly (if you were to cut open the chrysalis early), but its not ready. It needs to fully complete the metamorphosis. A part of the metamorphosis is the struggle to get out of the cocoon and into the light. If you cut the cocoon too soon, you are not helping the butterfly, but actually dooming it. It needs to struggle so that it can experience the full transformation and new life after the transformation.
A caterpillar is born and within a month it is in almost complete darkness while preparing for its next phase of life. It needs darkness, it needs struggle, and it needs light and hope. A caterpillar that goes through everything required to become a butterfly gets to experience a whole new life and perspective. As a caterpillar, it was confined to the ground and susceptible to getting squashed by other pests. Where a caterpillar can go is very limited. As a butterfly, it can fly and see the world from a whole different perspective. It can go further, faster, and has a better view of the world. But, the struggle is necessary.
The same is true for us. As we begin a New Year and desire to see and experience transformation in our lives, we need to remember that lasting change and transformation does not happen overnight, but requires us to struggle not alone, but in the light that gives us hope and promise for new life.
I hope that you have some worthy goals for the NewYear. However, I hope you know that the ones that are worth pursuing are going to require struggle. I hope that you have some light in your life (Jesus, family, friends, community) that encourages you to push through when you want to cry out for someone to snip your cocoon and rescue you - struggle through. You will get to be a butterfly - not just a caterpillar. Fly butterfly, fly!