Monarch Butterflies
migrate all the way across the United States to Mexico? That's a long,
long way for such a tiny little creature to fly.
Let me start at the beginning. The
monarchs lay their eggs on the milkweed plant. The milkweed may be a nasty
weed to the farmers, but it is a very important plant to the monarch. God
gave the butterfly the wisdom to know to lay her eggs on the milkweed.
When the hungry larvae hatches, it begins to eat the milkweed. As it eats,
it grows and grows. Perhaps you've watched a caterpillar crawl along the
ground or on a low branch munching on crunchy green leaves. Caterpillars
are kind of ugly and the ground can be a dangerous place for a caterpillar
to crawl. He might get stepped on.
An amazing thing happens to that
caterpillar. He changes into a butterfly. Do you realize after a
caterpillar becomes a butterfly he doesn't eat leaves any more. Want to
know something else? You'll never see it crawling around on the ground
again. That butterfly is completely changed. It doesn't hang around the
same places anymore. Instead of munching on crunchy leaves, it flutters
from flower to flower to drink sweet nectar with a special straw called a
proboscis. When the proboscis isn't being used it curls out of the way
like a party horn.
The ugly caterpillar is converted or
changed into a beautiful butterfly. It becomes a brand new creature. When
a person asks Jesus into their heart, they are converted. They become
brand new on the inside. Oh, I'm not trying to suggest we look different
on the outside, but on the inside you are brand new. You don't hang around
the same places you did before you asked Jesus into your heart. You don't
watch the same TV programs. You don't read the same books. You are
different. You desire to fill your mind and heart with things that please
Jesus because now you are a child of God.