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THE MOTH WHO WOULD BE BEAUTIFUL
10-25-96
This is the story of a little gray caterpillar named Cloudy.
She was very plain looking and lived a very ordinary life. That is until one fall day when a little girl named Jenny went for a walk with her mother and found the little caterpillar crawling on a small log.
Jenny had put Cloudy in her pocket and brought her home. She then put Cloudy in a jar on her kitchen counter. Cloudy could hear Jenny and her mother talking. They were excited that they were going to watch the little caterpillar change into a butterfly. This made Cloudy very happy.
A few days later Cloudy found herself in a cocoon. She thought to herself, “Jenny will be so excited to see me when I come out. I will be so special to her!”
Then one day it happened. The cocoon fell away and Cloudy crawled out and stretched her wings. She quickly looked to see if jenny could see her. Sure enough, Jenny and her mother were looking at her. But they were not looking at her with delight. They were looking at her with disgust.
Jenny was saying “Mommy, it’s not a butterfly. It’s just an ugly gray moth.” Her mother responded, “It is ugly! Don’t touch it, throw it outside!”
With a thud, Cloudy fell to the ground. The word UGLY, UGLY, UGLY echoed in her mind. She sat on the ground, not knowing what to do. Then, deep within her, a glimmer of hope started to emerge. She thought to herself, “Maybe, if I try really hard, I can make myself beautiful.”
At that moment she looked up and saw some butterflies seeming to dance in the air. Their beautiful colors looked like a flickering rainbow in the sky.
Cloudy decided she would be like them. She covered herself in blue, purple, and pink flower petals. She looked in a small puddle and thought to herself, “Not bad. With a little color I look pretty good.” Just then a gust of wind blew the flower petals off. Cloudy was left looking in the puddle, one again only a plain gray moth.
So Cloudy came up with a new plan. She thought, “Maybe if I do something heroic I will be beautiful.” So she set off, looking for an opportunity to be a hero.
One day she got her chance. As she was walking along she spotted a small ant hanging from a leaf, about to fall to the ground. Cloudy flew through the air and caught the ant just as he fell.
She looked down and saw all the bugs clapping and cheering for her. She landed as gracefully as she knew how and held her head high as all the bugs told her how brave she was.
But the applause finally died down and one by one the bugs returned to their usual hustling and bustling. Cloudy found herself all alone once more. Being a hero felt good, but the feeling didn’t last. Again, she looked in the puddle and saw only an ugly, gray moth staring back at her.
In utter despair, Cloudy leaned against a rock and started to cry. She realized that no matter what she did, she would always be only a dingy, ugly, gray moth.
Through the tears, she began to hear a faint voice in the distance. At first she couldn’t make out the words. But as the voice got closer the words became clear.
The voice was warm and gentle. Her heart started to beat more quickly when she heard the words she had longed to hear. “Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come with me.”
Cloudy thought, “Those words could never be for one as ugly as me.”
Very slowly, she lifted her head and looked into the eyes of the One who loved her. In the forest there was talk of this Jesus, but now she saw Him face to face.
All she had heard could not compare with the love that flowed from Him. She looked in His eyes and saw that in His eyes she truly was beautiful. He treasured her. She was so special and precious to Him. Again, He spoke those words of love. “Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come with me.”
The full impact of these words started to sink in. A joy began to well up within Cloudy as she realized that it wasn’t what she looked like or what she did that made her beautiful. “JESUS ENJOYS ME JUST AS I AM!” she exclaimed. With a burst of new life she flew into the air. She twirled and danced in the breeze.
And Jesus smiled with delight as He watched the one He called Beautiful, finally set free.
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The Tale of Forgiveness 11-06-03
Once upon a time there were two kingdoms. One kingdom was dark and barren and harsh. The other kingdom was light and filled with the sounds of singing and dancing. The ruler of the kingdom of darkness was filled with hatred. He desired to destroy all the lands about him. He would set out at night with bags of seeds. These were the seeds of discord and jealousy, rejection and hatred. These seeds held every hurtful thing one person could do to another. This evil ruler would sew these seeds wherever he was able. Pain and destruction would hit the soil. If allowed to sink in, roots of bitterness, resentment, and hatred would start to grow. The soil would become hard and crusty. Soon branches of thorns would spring up. Over time the land would become dark and barren and harsh. Those who lived in the land would become isolated and alone, despairing even of life.
Such was the pain of those who lived in the land of unforgiveness. They guarded the seeds that had been planted by the evil one. They would look often at the wounds, not wanting to forget the pain. They knew the land was barren and painful, but they knew no other way.
Then one day another kind of ruler came into the land. With Him, there was beauty and joy and peace. He talked of another kingdom where there was freedom. The people were given a glimpse of this kingdom and it truly was beautiful. A hunger grew in the hearts of the people. What would it be like to live in a land with such freedom? Their hearts became desperate. They’d had enough of barrenness. They wanted freedom. The Good Ruler looked into their hearts and saw their desire. His heart leaped with compassion and love for these people. He desired freedom for them. He desired to make their land beautiful. Finally they were ready. Their desire for freedom outweighed even their desire for justice. Could this Beautiful Ruler help them? With delight in His eyes He told them, “How I have longed and waited for this day. I would not invade your land as the evil ruler did. I would wait for you to be ready.” He showed them what He was going to do. If the people would let go of the seeds of pain He would go into the land. He would carefully remove all the roots of bitterness and all the branches of barrenness. In their place He would sew new seeds of love and mercy and grace. These seeds would produce joy and peace and freedom throughout the land. At first it was hard to let go of the seeds of pain, but the desire for freedom was strong. Carefully and tenderly the Ruler worked the land. Over time the land that had been harsh and barren was transformed into a land filled with life and love. Birds would soar in the sky as wildflowers danced on the breeze. The way of love and mercy had been the key to freedom.
The evil ruler would still enter the land from time to time to sew his seeds of darkness, but the people had learned to recognize his work. Before the seeds could take root they would take them to the Beautiful Ruler. As they gave them to Him, He would in return sew even more seeds of love and mercy in the land. The people were amazed as the land became even more beautiful than before.
Every seed sewn by the evil one could be held on to and produce barrenness, or it could be exchanged for even more seeds of love and mercy. It became easier to make the choice. The freedom of forgiveness was so wonderful. The Beautiful Ruler smiled with delight as the sounds of singing and dancing filled the land.
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TRUE JUSTICE 09-10-06
I had an interesting thought about justice. True justice isn’t just about the one who brought pain being punished. True justice is when the victim is restored. What I pictured is this little house on a piece of land with horses and cattle and a few crops. In rides a man on a dark horse who steals the horses and the cattle and he burns down the house and sets fire to the land. The land is left burned and desolate.
So often we see justice as going after the rider of the dark horse and punishing him, but that is only a small part of justice. If that is the end of the story the people who owned the little house still have nothing but a burnt up darkened land. The justice that is in God’s heart restores the land – not just to where it once was, but to overflowing. Whereas it was once a simple piece of land, God restores it to a place with color and vibrancy. God’s justice causes things to thrive.
In our desire for justice, we often focus on wanting for them to pay for what they’ve done. We want them punished severely for what they’ve done. But if this is our only focus it leaves the land barren. True justice comes when the focus becomes restoring the land.
So often we chase after those who hurt us. I picture us getting on our horses and riding after them through the rocky cliffs and wilderness. We can spend our whole lives chasing after those who hurt us to see them punished. But where does that leave our land? Abandoned. There is no restoration while we are out chasing vengeance. But there is another way. We can give up the chase. We can turn our horse around and head home. We leave the chase in God’s hands. I still see the person who hurt me wandering through the rocky places and the wilderness, but now there are angels and the Holy Spirit who are following after them. Our focus is now our land. When we turn back, God is now free to restore the land. He desires beauty for ashes. That is His justice. He hates to see things stolen from us. He doesn’t want us to dwell in the pain and the hurts left by others. He wants to not only restore us to where we were before, He wants to restore us to a place filled with joy and peace and freedom. He wants to fill the land with His song of love. We can’t hear that if we are off in the wilderness chasing after those who hurt us.
Which do I choose?
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A Simple Walk 08-31-07
There once was a girl left broken and abandoned, bruised and dirty and covered in
rags. Hopelessness overwhelmed her as she sat in her pain and despair. There seemed
to be no way out and all in life seemed dry and barren.
Then came One who held out the hope of love and wholeness. He was different. Others
had taken, but He spoke of His desire to give. This was foreign and hard to believe,
but slowly she allowed herself to start to trust. He spoke of giving her freedom and
peace and beauty. These were things she craved, but had come to believe they were for
others - not for her.
But this One had a look in His eyes that melted her cold heart. In His eyes were the
tenderness, kindness, and joy that made her feel safe and cared for.
They spent more and more time together and she found this One safe to be real with.
Even in her rags she had worn a false smile, hoping others would not see her ragged
condition, but the smile was not real. It was merely a mask she wore hoping she would
look pretty. But with this One she could put away the false smile and instead expose
the pain and anger that seemed so overwhelming. He understood and loved her no matter
how ugly she felt. This was very different. She found her heart becoming more soft
and tender toward Him.
One day He invited her to a simple walk with Him. He promised that as they walked
together not only would she know Him, but she would be transformed. What a deal! She
had nothing to lose, and before her was the promise of being loved and being made
beautiful.
Many days and years were spent healing the wounds from the past. Slowly, over time,
the pain and anger were washed away. The girl didn't feel as broken as before and she
started looking around at all the people around her. They also knew this One, but had
different adventures with Him. She wanted what they had. What they had seemed better
and much more exciting. This One must like them better. So she tried to become like
all these other people. She tried to muster up love and giftings, but instead found
herself envious, irritable and feeling more distant from Him that ever. The more she
tried to make herself beautiful, the more ugly she became.
Confused and angry she eventually came to Him with all her frustration. She was
trying so hard! She wanted to be good and beautiful, but no matter how hard she tried
she could not change herself.
Nothing about this surprised Him. He knew all along that this was a lesson she would
have to learn. He reminded her that He had told her that as she walked with Him, He
would bestow beauty on her. It would simply be the result of being with Him. "You
want to run, but I want to walk with you. It's only as we walk that I can put my arm
around you and hold you close. You think everyone else has a better road to travel,
but this road I have specifically picked for you. It is not the lesser way, It is a
journey of walking with Me, being with Me in the moment. You will be transformed as
we walk together, but it will never come because you try to change yourself. If I let
that work for you, you would quickly run off ahead. I don't want that to happen. I
want you right here with me. I want you close. My love for you is too great. I will
keep drawing you back to my side. I want to be with you. Simply walk with me. You
will see that this is the best path for you. Simply walk with Me."
And she did....
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