Become

Mrs. Renfro's Sunday school class gathered around the mesh cage. The chrysalis twitched like kitten whiskers. Excited whispers hushed as the first spiny leg pushed out of the cocoon, and soon the butterfly unfolded from its woven bed and fluttered around the cage. "Look!" squealed Mckenzie. "It became a butterfly!" "How did that happen?" asked Mrs. Renfro. "How does something become something else?""Well, the caterpillar built a chrysalis and then turned into a butterfly," said Lucas. Mrs. Renfro nodded. "What else becomes something different?""Cookie dough becomes cookies," Mckenzie said."And seeds become plants and flowers," said Jonah."Very good. You see, a lot of things become something else," said Mrs. Renfro. "Including us. We became different too.""Different from what?" asked Mckenzie.Mrs. Renfro set the cage with the fluttering butterfly down. "Without Jesus's life, death, and resurrection, we would be trapped in our sins. In fact, the Bible calls us enemies of God and slaves to sin. We don't want to love God or love others. We are covered with sin and full of hate.""How do we become different?" asked Lucas. "What do we have to do?""We can't do anything by ourselves. Jesus's love changes us," said Mrs. Renfro. "When you trusted in Him, He gave you His Holy Spirit, and you became something different. You became a child of God. You became someone who loves God and believes His Word." She pointed at the black and orange butterfly. "Just like the chrysalis transforms the caterpillar into a butterfly, Jesus saved you and transformed you. You are washed clean and more beautiful than any butterfly. You became a new creation in Christ Jesus, free from sin and an heir of heaven."Jonah peered into the mesh. "The butterfly is kind of like a new creation too. Only he's not free.""Not yet." Mrs. Renfro smiled. "C'mon, class. Let's give this butterfly one more transformation--from a trapped butterfly to a free one.""Just like we are free because of Jesus," said Mckenzie."Exactly," said Mrs. Renfro. -Cathryn Free