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.