Not A Little Less A Caterpillar, Pt. 2

Being a Christian isn’t about the difference of degree but of kind. A Christian’s heart isn’t a little better, a little cleaner; it is a new, changed heart, a different kind of heart. A Christian’s lifestyle isn’t a little purer; it is a completely different lifestyle. No longer a drunkard, the believer does not want to drink less; he doesn’t want to drink at all. No longer impure, the Christian does not, though tempted, seek out carnal gratifications. He does not stop looking at porn online but substitute in its place the bathing suit issue of Sports Illustrated. No longer filthy hearted, the Christian is no longer filthy mouthed. It isn’t just that the Christian is less a drunkard. He is no longer a drunkard. It is not that a Christian is less promiscuous. He is now dedicated to fidelity. It is not that his heart has been made less sinful. He has been given a new heart. Thank God! It is theological and reality suicide to suggest that the Christian is free from carnal and worldly temptation. That eradication will only take place at the time of future glorification of this body. The difference is, the Christian’s new heart detests and rejects these carnal desires instead of embracing and justifying them. Notice this truth of it-isn’t-a matter-of-degree-but-of-kind in this biographical note of a king of Israel, which by inspiration was included, I believe, to reveal, among other things, this very truth: “And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father, and like his mother:.”(2Ki 3:2-3). Inarguably, Jehoram was not as evil as his father Ahab. He even got rid of some of the idols. That did not mean he was one of God’s true people. To be less sinful in degree is not to have a changed heart, be a changed person. Thank God, upon our true surrender to Him, He gives us a new heart that leads to a life that is, not just less evil than that of the wicked, but a whole new way of living: “A new heart also will I give you, ..:and cause you to walk in my statutes, ...” (Eze 36:26-27). Years ago one of our kids snared a caterpillar and kept it in the house in a glass jar. Not long after, it disappeared into the cocoon it spun. The kids were at school, and I was in my study when my wife yelled, “Come here. You got to see this.” We marveled together as a Monarch Butterfly struggle from the cocoon and soon began to stretch and fan its unfurled wings. I mused long at this wonder of God’s creation. I knew it was the same insect as the caterpillar, but its transformation was so complete and radical it was hard to believe. It was so different. Now, if the caterpillar had of struggled out of the cocoon still a caterpillar only with a few less legs, a few less stripes, and a not quite as ugly face, I may have paused briefly but would not have marveled. There is no marvel in a caterpillar becoming less a caterpillar. That would not even be an improvement. It would still be a caterpillar. But, oh the transformation of that caterpillar into a butterfly--that is the work of God. No, a truly converted believer is not less a caterpillar. He, set free from the cocoon of sin, is a beautiful new creation, a butterfly.