When I think like a worm, I'll live like a worm.

Metamorphosis is an amazing process whereby a worm is transformed into a beautiful butterfly. Worms don't impress me. They crawl around, they're often slimy to the touch, and they can't leave whatever they happen to be attached to at the moment unless they are falling through the air. But a butterfly? They're different. Marked by a variety of dazzling colours, they flit through the air doing what butterflies do: supporting the pollination process, and amazing people in general — particularly those who study them.

According to God's Word, I'm like a butterfly, but it's possible for me to behave like a worm.

Colossians 3:1-3 – Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. (NLT)

Suppose I'm a slave. I'll look like a slave and act like a slave because I am a slave. But imagine that my master brings me in one day and says, "You're not going to be a slave any longer. I'm going to make you my son." Immediately, my position changes. I'm a slave no longer. I can dress better, and I should act differently. Menial tasks would disappear. My self-esteem should rise, and now, I'll have the respect of others.

Such is what God has done. He's taken a slave with a master named "sin" and made me a son. Since my identity has changed, so should my behaviour, because identity affects behaviour. If I still consider myself a sinner, I'll live a defeated life, thinking that I have no power over my old master. But when I realize that the resurrection power of Christ lives in me, I'll adopt the self-analysis that the Bible assigns me: saint. Changed thinking results in altered behaviour. I can't live the Christian life in my own power, but I can with Christ in me.

Are you living like a worm when you should be flying freely like a butterfly?

Prayer: Merciful Lord, enable us to accept our identity in You so that we can effectively live out our character. Amen.

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About the author:

Martin Wiles <mandmwiles@gmail.com>
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
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